As many of you know I am a cancer survivor myself so studying cancer stem cells has meaning for me on another level. Cancer is also the possible side effect most patients worry about when considering going to an unproven stem cell clinic. I’ve got a new video up on possible stem cell side effects …
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 …
Weekly stem cell reads: COVID, tail regeneration, aging Read More »
This edition of The Niche weekly reads has a bit more good news than usual including on stem cell transplants. It’s nice to see positive developments like some recipients of hematopoietic stem cell transplants being able to stay at home afterwards. Also, a reminder. You have until July 31 to enter our stem cell video …
The FDA has sought injunctions in federal court against two stem cell clinic firms including the clinic chain Cell Surgical Network headquartered here in California and US Stem Cell in Florida. According to new documents filed by the government in federal court here in California there may be more ties between the clinic firms than …
FDA alleges Cell Surgical Network links to US Stem Cell & COVID plan Read More »
For more than a year in my first job as a scientist I isolated cells from umbilical cord veins and then tossed the tissue away, never realizing there was more there that could be useful in the form of something called Wharton’s jelly. What’s in this article Umbilical cord histology & Wharton’s jelly | What …
What is Wharton’s jelly & its possible clinical uses? Read More »
What can a gecko possibly teach us about skin cancer? Read on. It’s fun when a week’s worth of science reading covers so much territory including COVID-19, geckos that get cancer, a research misconduct sleuth, an FDA letter, and more. Baltimore weighs in on COVID lab origin idea Caltech has a very interesting interview with …
Recommended reads: Bik, FDA letter, gecko cancer model, David Baltimore on COVID origin Read More »
The International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy or ISCT held a really interesting webinar yesterday on the FDA and unproven stem cell clinics. It was focused on the expiration of the FDA’s discretionary period on unproven stem cell clinics. What will the FDA do now? The webinar included some ideas and also quite a …
New data on stem cell clinics, INDs, & more including from FDA itself Read More »
When someone uses the term “adult stem cells” you might think that simply means stem cells from adults. However, it’s not that simple. The goal of today’s post is to help you get all the key facts about adult stem cells. This includes the different types of adult stem cells and their clinical potential. What …
What are adult stem cells & their clinical applications? Read More »
Sometimes the recommended weekly stem cell reads are just a bunch of papers I find intriguing, but more often they include at least one or more things that are not necessarily “recommended”. Instead these are items that stimulate discussion and debate. Today’s post includes one such complicated area on cord MSCs related to COVID-19 plus …
Weekly stem cell reads: Pew, cord cells for COVID, more Read More »
Mere weeks into the COVID pandemic, stunning graphics began to appear depicting the path of devastation of SARS-CoV-2 through a human lung. It’s only recently that we’ve come to understand what, exactly, is happening on a cellular level. The new view is thanks to single-cell RNA-sequencing, which analyzes the abundance of messenger RNAs in individual …
COVID Traps Alveoli Cells in a Curious Progenitor State, Squelching Lung Regeneration Read More »