2015 Review of Vogelstein “Bad Luck” Cancer & Stem Cell Paper in Science January 02, 2015 2014 What Does New Paper Mean for Future of Nuclear Transfer ES Cells? November 9, 2014 Encouraging New Paper on ACT Stem Cell-Based Trial for Macular Degeneration October 14, 2014 Top 10 Takeaways From Harvard Stem Cell Diabetes …
Every year I look into my stem cell crystal ball and make a top 10 list of stem cell predictions for the coming year. My predictions for 2015 will be coming up soon and I may bump them up to 20 predictions instead of 10 because there’s so much going on in the field. Stay …
Stem cell crystal ball: how did my 2014 predictions fare? Read More »
For the worlds of biology and cell biology including the stem cell field more specifically, the holidays came early with some fantastic news. Philanthropist and Microsoft co-Founder Paul Allen will give $100 million to form a new institute focused on cell biology in Seattle. The Allen Institute for Cell Science has an ambitious mission dedicated to …
The Niche is the top, most authoritative stem cell and regenerative medicine blog on the web and the only one to our knowledge written by a professor. It is mainly written by Professor Paul Knoepfler of UC Davis School of Medicine, an internationally respected stem cell biologist and educator. Knoepfler is an advocate of rigorous …
I invited Nobel Laureate Shinya Yamanaka to do an interview on the future of clinical translation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). He provides some intriguing new insights into the iPSC field and the broader stem cell arena. PK: The Takahashi Team’s active Clinical Study using iPSCs to make RPEs to treat Macular Degeneration has …
Shinya Yamanaka Interview on Clinical Use of IPSC Read More »
Can stem cells some day cure baldness? This is about more than vanity. Baldness can also be due to a medical condition or a side effect of a treatment of another kind. Many medical procedures such as radiation treatment for brain cancer or chemo as well as medical conditions such as burns or alopecia cause baldness, …
Skeptical look at stem cells for baldness: hope vs. hype Read More »
How do “drugs” influence stem cells? Here’s the straight dope. Those of us in the trenches of the stem cell research field spend an inordinate amount of time talking about stem cell treatments (i.e. you inject stem cells into a person hoping for a medical benefit), and far too little time discussing endogenous stem cells. …
These are your stem cells on drugs…any questions? Read More »
There can be weird old stuff in the freezers, fridges, and elsewhere in labs. Most labs try to do the equivalent of a spring cleaning now and then to make a dent in the accumulation of this kind of stuff. Recently the NIH found various old stuff in their labs including two very unnerving findings: living smallpox and …
NIH Finds Old Small Pox, Ricin: What’s in Your Lab? Read More »
Before the two STAP cell papers were published in Nature in January of 2014, much of the same data was reportedly submitted as single papers to other high-profile journals including Science. In these cases, the proto-STAP papers as we might call them were rejected. But why? Until now we largely could only speculate. However, the reviews …
Full Reviews of Rejected STAP Paper Point to Early Signs of Big Trouble Read More »
StemCells Inc. is a top biotech company developing stem cell-based therapies. They have a deep pipeline that includes already ongoing trials for a variety of diseases. I invited company leadership to do an interview and they graciously accepted. Below is the interview with CFO Greg Schiffman (picture at left from LinkedIn) including what I thought …
Interview with StemCells Inc. leadership on hot topics Read More »