One of my favorite stem cell scientists is Jeanne Loring of Scripps. She does great science and when you ask her questions, she frankly states her opinions and is clearly a gifted educator at heart too. Below is a Q&A interview I did with Jeanne on key issues of clinical translation of iPS cells. You […]
Jeanne Loring interview: optimism on clinical translation of IPS cells Read More »
If you are wondering, “How will iPS cells get to help patients?” part of the answer is perhaps the big player and Japanese Institution, Riken and its arm Retina Institute of Japan. The stem cell field is still abuzz about induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells 7 years after their discovery. This amazing embryonic stem cell-like cells can
Meet Retina Institute of Japan: translating iPS cells Read More »
When are iPS cell-based therapies ready to be tested in actual people? It’s the million or perhaps even billion dollar question of today in the stem cell field. I realize that perhaps it is also a dangerous question, politically-speaking, for me to ask in a public forum, but patient lives as well as potentially the
The Asahi Shimbun just published a fun, intriguing interview with Shinya Yamanaka, the Nobel Laureate who first produce iPS cells. In the interview, Yamanaka says that the celebrity aspect of his new post-Nobel life has driven him to wear disguises when out running in public because he gets recognized so often. Yamanaka is also asked
Great new Yamanaka interview on iPS cell safety, being a celebrity, & future plans Read More »
It is always exciting when a biomedical technology as revolutionary as iPS cells is on the cusp of being used in patients for the first time. In the last few days stories have reported about how a proposed clinical trial based on iPS cells has completed several regulatory steps and is closer to starting. This
The induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell field has been red hot over the approximately first half dozen years of its existence from 2006-2011. However, as I blogged about here part way through 2012, it was showing signs of cooling off a bit in terms of the shear output of publications. It turns out that now
IPS cell field milestone: 2012 is first year with fewer publications than previous Read More »
I recently did a Q&A interview with NeoStem CEO Dr. Robin Smith. I posted Part 1 of that interview a few days ago here. Now we have part two focused on VSEL, ES cells, and iPS cells. PK: I frequently have readers of my blog ask questions about VSEL. They seem puzzled and unsure of
Interview with NeoStem CEO Robin Smith Part 2: VSEL, ES cells, and iPS cells Read More »
I’ve been running a poll on just how similar iPS cells are to ES cells. Most respondents do not think iPS cells are functionally identical to ES cells as only 18% said they were identical. Double that number say unequivocally that iPS cells are not functionally the same as ES cells. The greatest number of
Results of stem cell poll: only 18% say iPS cells are functionally identical to ES cells Read More »
I’m doing this series called “The Elephant in the Lab” where I discuss controversial or taboo laboratory topics that people are usually too afraid to publicly discuss. I started with iPS cells (for a description and definition of iPS cells go here) and now have updated this post for 2013 because the field is changing rapidly. iPS
Taboo topics about iPS cells: updated for 2013 Read More »
Poll on this question: are iPS cells and ES cells functionally identical?
Hot topic poll: are iPS cells and ES cells functionally identical? Read More »