The Japan Times has the first detailed account in English about Haruko Obokata’s new book, “That Day”. HT to blog reader Shinsakan. (update: another helpful piece on this from the WSJ). In the book, Obokata (who was widely blamed for the STAP cell fiasco) seeks to shift the blame to others according to the paper. […]
Obokata claims she was framed for STAP cell scandal Read More »
In 2014, I reported on a groundbreaking, but debated Duke stem cell-based clinical trial being launched for autism. Where does that trial stand today? (note that as of 2018-2020 I am very skeptical about stem cells for autism) The cord blood trial has continued. It is led by Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, whom I interviewed about cord blood stem
Upbeat Update from Duke on Stem Cell Autism Trial, but Questions Remain Read More »
Congratulations to Dr. Jeanne Loring, the winner of the Stem Cell Person of the Year Award for 2015. Facing steep competition from a very tough field of competitors of finalists, Jeanne came out as the winner for her exceptional contributions in 2015 and throughout her many years in the field. She not only has made
Stem Cell Person of the Year 2015: Jeanne Loring Read More »
By David Brafman (from a stem cell clinic infomercial event). With the vast amount of information about stem cells available to the general public, many misconceptions exist regarding stem cells and their potential applications. Paul and other prominent stem cell scientists have done an excellent job of educating the public about the facts regarding stem
David Brafman: Attending Stem Cell Clinic Infomercial Read More »
Got your new mandatory NIH biosketch all done? I didn’t think so. Want some help? Read on. NIH has done research and come up with a new biosketch for all of us to use with our proposals. It’s not optional. Originally it was going to be required for January 2015 proposals, but now it must
10 tips on mandatory new NIH biosketch & example Read More »
What’s the deal with the tension between José Silva and Jacob Hanna over pluripotency? Researchers probing how to reprogram cells into powerful stem cells (induced pluripotent stem cells or IPSCs) and what the molecular mechanisms are behind this process have become entangled in a conflict. Of course over the years scientists including stem cell scientists have
Silva Comments on MBD3/NuRD Debate with Jacob Hanna Read More »
As a scientist blogger, I have a lot to be thankful for as Thanksgiving approaches so I wanted to say “Thanks.” First, I want to thank the readers of this blog who make it a reality. If no one reads a blog, then pretty much it doesn’t exist for all intents and purposes. Second, I
Giving thanks to my blog community Read More »
The STAP cell mess that began in January of this year has in some ways quieted down. In a broader sense, I believe that STAP is now and will be in the future viewed as a scandal that revealed some less than ideal aspects to the world of biomedical science and publishing. Where does this
STAP Cell Update: STAP-like paper, Real Origin of STAP cells Read More »
I am doing some polling on whether people who have finished graduate school would go again, why or why not, and what their current position is at this time. I found the responses to be surprising and interesting. Almost two-thirds of respondents indicated they would do grad school again if given a do-over. Despite all the
In polling, most scientists would go to grad school again & here’s why or why not Read More »
Nikkei is reporting that the RIKEN internal attempt to replicate so-called STAP (acid bath) cells has failed. Update: apparently, although RIKEN calls the efforts preliminary, the team tried to make STAP an amazing 22 times and 22 times it failed. The rumors for weeks in the stem cell gapevine that RIKEN itself could not get
RIKEN fails to reproduce STAP, big CDB shake up expected Read More »