When I read about a stem cell penis growth injection, what comes to mind first when you read that is “Ow!” The goal of today’s post is to fact-check this whole area. What’s in this article Stem cell penis growth | Risks |US Stem Cell Clinic claims |Does it work? | Does size matter? | Data check […]
Stem cell penile growth fact check Read More »
Is monkey cloning a good idea? We’re about to find out. A new Cell paper today reports the first cloning of monkeys via somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), raising many questions. The paper from a team led by Qiang Sun is entitled, “Cloning of Macaque Monkeys by Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer.” The highlight bullet points
Is monkey cloning a breakthrough or a bad idea? Read More »
CRISPR and IPS cells are two of my favorite things so when they come together as in a cool, new paper from Sheng Ding’s lab, I’m excited to read it and curious as to what the scoop is. Since 2006-2007 when mouse and human reprogramming were first reported, many different methods have been explored to
CRISPR to make IPS cells: review of new Ding lab paper Read More »
In the whirlwind that is the stem cell and regenerative medicine world, there are many concerning things that need attention, but also good stuff happens too and this post focuses on the positive. The Asterias spinal cord injury clinical trial, a phase 1/2a trial called SCiStar, continues to make encouraging news with a clean safety profile
Good stem cell news on trials, FDA, cool new papers & more Read More »
A new paper focused on human and other chimeras just came out today in Cell reporting a number of findings, but most strikingly successful generation of human-pig chimeras in utero. The paper, entitled, “Interspecies Chimerism with Mammalian Pluripotent Stem Cells” describes various chimeras including mouse-rat ones, although those have previously been reported. This work comes
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Over the years some scientists including yours truly have expressed concerns about the possibility that mutations could crop up during the reprogramming process to make induced pluripotent stem cells (IPS cells or IPSC). How concerned should we be about IPS cell mutations? A cool new paper, Bhutani, et al, in Nature Communications from a team led by
For IPS cell mutations, some reassuring new data but validation still key Read More »
ISSCR Chat By Michael Cea Jeanne Loring of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California kindly sat down with me at the ISSCR annual meeting for a broad discussion of her history, views on the field and developments in the science. I found Jeanne a refreshing character, as I did a number of others I was
Michael Cea ISSCR chat with Jeanne Loring on stem cell field Read More »
In a new, thought-provoking paper today in Nature, Shoukhrat Mitalipov and a multi-institutional team report a significant advance toward potential novel ways to treat mitochondrial diseases. What are these illnesses? Mitochondrial diseases are rare, but devastating disorders caused by genetic mutations. Today they are largely impossible to treat in meaningful ways other than palliative care. Some
Mitalipov Nature pub review: IPSC & SCNT for mitochondrial disease Read More »
Some diverse new stem cell papers worth a peek this weekend? Direct reprogramming hits crest: Generation of Multipotent Induced Neural Crest by Direct Reprogramming of Human Postnatal Fibroblasts with a Single Transcription Factor, Cell Stem Cell Hormone receptors in prostate cancer cells versus stem cells: Concise Review: Androgen Receptor Differential Roles in Stem/Progenitor Cells Including Prostate, Embryonic, Stromal,
5 new cool stem cell papers worth a look for weekend reading Read More »
Just how good are human embryonic stem (ES) cells made by therapeutic cloning via nuclear transfer, with the successful technique first reported by the lab of Shoukhrat Mitalipov at OHSU last year? How do they compare to induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells or traditional ES cells made from IVF embryos? A new paper in Nature directly tackles these
Review of Mitalipov Nature paper: cloned ES cells vs iPS cells Read More »