Search Results for: embryonic stem cells

Weekly reads: neural stem cells, CRISPR brain, Vertex, cytoplasm surprise

neural stem cells

Some people consider the brain to be equivalent to a living computer and in that sense it’s too bad that computers don’t have the equal of neural stem cells to help them fix themselves. Is the internet one big neural network-like web? There was a quake in the stem cell internet as CIRM’s main website …

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Weekly reads: Melton leaves Harvard, Fuji, BBC blunder, stem cell niche, more

Senolytics restore the stem cell niche in the brains of mice. Fatt, et al. Stem Cell Reports 2022.

Sometimes a post here on The Niche (named after the stem cell niche) sparks a debate between expert stem cell researchers and often that gives much more depth to a topic. Such was the case with my post this week on where things stand with stem cell therapy for heart disease. It led to a …

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Stem cell weekly reads: Jamie Thomson, Lamin B1, CRISPR

james-a.-thomson-214x3001

The big news of the week was a $3.6 million settlement by a stem cell clinic, StemGenex, and one of its doctors in a class-action suit. I covered this StemGenex settlement and so did Michael Hiltzik of the LA Times and Paul Schloesser at Endpoints. I’d say this was good news for the stem cell field …

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Weekly reads: possible rare HIV cure, stem cell chicken, FDA commish

HIV infected T cell, HIV cure

The idea of stem cells outright curing diseases is exciting and has powerful appeal, but media need to be careful about using the word cure in headlines and articles as we saw this week related to a possible HIV Cure. HIV cure via stem cells and chemo? The big news of the week was that …

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Recommended reads: senolytics, cow iPS cells, big CIRM royalty

Senolytics Steve Horvath

When we hear the word senile we might think stereotypically of an older person who has cognitive impairment, but some argue that senility can apply to cells too as they age and that such cells can be targeted by drugs called senolytics. Unfortunately, the supplements industry has picked up on this idea to sell iffy …

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Recommended reads: stem cell scientists, eggs from blood, Cryo-Cell

Nobel Laureate Shinya Yamanaka, the first to produce induced pluripotent stem cells

We’ll begin this week’s recommended reads with some news on two wonderful stem cell scientists. While there are thousands of stem cell scientists, some stand out for their especially creative work. News on stem cell scientists   Nobel laureate Yamanaka to retire as director of iPS cell center, Asahi Shimbun. Dr. Yamanaka will spend more time …

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Explainer on 293 or HEK cells and their use in COVID vaccine research

HEK 293 cells Knoepfler Lab

A type of human cells used in research called HEK cells or 293s has been much in the news lately. This is mainly related to COVID-19 vaccine research. There seem to be many misunderstandings about 293 cells. For that reason, I thought I’d do this post to clear things up. I’ve been working with these …

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Weekly stem cell reads: pending FDA verdict, blood vessels, RA

Cellular populations in the vascular wall, stem cell niche

Any day now we should get the verdict from the judge in the big stem cell clinic case here in California against Cell Surgical Network, et al. It seems that the FDA is waiting on this verdict before taking some major actions. If the judge rules against the agency it could throw the area into …

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Tribute to pioneering stem cell scientist Meri Firpo

Tenneille Ludwig, Meri Firpo, and Rosario Isasi at a stem cell meeting (l-r).

Last week we lost Meri Firpo, a great scientist and dear friend in the stem cell community who touched many lives in positive ways. Today’s post is a tribute to Meri, who passed away from breast cancer. If you want to add a tribute please add a comment. Meri Firpo short bio Meri received her …

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Weekly stem cell reads: COVID, tail regeneration, aging

tail regeneration

The stem cell field lost a great scientist and friend this week with the passing of Meri Firpo from metastatic breast cancer. I’m going to post a tribute to Meri from several of us sometime this coming week. I’m in a bit of a somber mood but still trying to write, read, and do all …

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