Search Results for: biotech

Weekly reads: stem cell patches, helicase editing, hearing loss, Astellas, Dr. No

New research on stem cell patches is exciting. However, more broadly, “stem cell patches” can mean very different things. What I’m talking about here are the types of patches that can repair holes or other problems with tissues. This is a powerful regenerative approach. In contrast, I’m not a fan of the type of stem cell […]

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Stanford’s Mike Snyder and wellness coach Tony Robbins together yield some puzzling research

Mike Snyder and Tony Robbins, Stanford Tony Robbins

What do you think of when I  mention Stanford professor Mike Snyder and self-help guru Tony Robbins together? I would not necessarily have imagined them forming a connection but science is full of surprises. I’ve admired Snyder’s work in genetics for a long time. I’m most familiar these days with Robbins for his interest in

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Weekly reads: George Church’s stem cell startup GC Therapeutics, coral for knees, blast from the past

Parastoo Khoshakhlagh, Alex Ng, GC Therapeutics

It’s always fun to see startups with cool ideas in the regenerative medicine space and a new one called GC Therapeutics got some nice coverage this week. What do you think the name of this firm stands for? I have one main idea I mention below. Before we jump into it, I want to introduce

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Weekly reads: Parkinson’s & the gut, sports, cat stem cells

stem cells for Parkinson's, Parkinson's

I’ve met people who are excited about using stem cells for Parkinson’s Disease. Some of these folks have Parkinson’s or are loved ones. Talking to them makes things real. It feel personal and not just scientific. The current treatment options are far away from what is needed for many people. I am optimistic that a

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Weekly reads: Vertex stem cells for diabetes, storing iPS cells on the Moon, science hype award nominees

Felicia Pagliuca, stem cells for diabetes

How is research looking on stem cells for diabetes? I’m feeling more encouraged about the clinical research in that area. Before we jump into that let’s talk about two other things.  The big news of the week was the felony plea deal by Liveyon’s John Kosolcharoen to charges related to marketing an unapproved cell therapy

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Recommended reads: Stem cells in Japan, iPS cells for COVID & hearts, He Jiankui

fruit fly intestine, stem cells in Japan

How are things going with regenerative medicine and stem cells in Japan? It’s still an exciting time there, but I’ve noted a sense that it is a time of transition too in some ways. For example, government funding is perhaps less certain than in the past. Let’s start with a few articles on how the

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Recommended reads: click editing, CRISPR v. progeria, diapause transcriptional program

click editing

Gene editing continues to advance both in the clinic trial arena and at more basic science levels including a report on a new approach called click editing. The two gene editing papers below highlight the variety of tools now available. Gene Editing papers including click editing Click editing enables programmable genome writing using DNA polymerases

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Recommended reads: 3 infected in Mexico, stem cell hype, hearing restoration

muscle stem cell hype

Stem cell hype is a big problem these days. It’s been going on for decades. Even some generally good citizens of the stem cell and regenerative medicine arena engage in it at times. Maybe a few of them don’t even realize what they are doing. I think a few journalists occasionally fall into the hype

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Recommended reads: John Cleese, surprising human embryo study, stem bank scandal, reprogramming & aging

John Cleese stem cells anti-aging, John Cleese

If you remember Monty Python, then you probably recall John Cleese. We’ll start with Cleese’s stem cell baloney. Not spam. Secret to eternal youth? John Cleese extols virtues of stem cell treatment, The Guardian. I’ve written before about John Cleese’s stem cell anti-aging efforts. As I told the author of The Guardian piece, I love

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Utah stem cell law OKs non-FDA approved placental cell drug therapies likely sparking conflict

Utah Rep. Katy Hall

Utah appears ready to pass a new stem cell law that would explicitly allow clinical use of non-FDA-approved placental cell drug therapies in the state. Bill 199 seems likely to set up a conflict with the FDA that may land in court. The key part of the bill says: “A health care provider whose scope

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