Search Results for: stem cell field

Weekly reads: ‘junk DNA’, COVID chaos, CRISPR CasΦ, & postdoc opps, more

Retroviral-genes-Junk-DNA-NIHsmall

Here are our weekly recommended regenerative medicine and other notable science reads including a few things on COVID. It’s been quite an interesting week. “Junk DNA” is not so junky, role in differentiation NIH scientists showed how ancient retroviral genes, or “junk DNA”, may play a role in helping stem cells decide to become neurons. This …

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CRISPR often damages human embryo chromosomes

human-embryo-modification

Three new studies reported in preprints all show severe DNA damage to human embryos from CRISPR a surprisingly high percentage of the time including in some cases loss of heterozygosity (LOH). Anywhere from about a quarter to half of CRISPR’d embryos exhibited major genome damage. As readers of The Niche know, I never was a …

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Duke Autism Center trial: no benefit of cord blood for autism

Cord-blood-autism, Cryo Cell

A solid new, blinded placebo-controlled Phase II study from the Duke Autism Center clearly shows no benefit of cord blood for autism. Surprisingly, the team has said they are encouraged by the results. As a result, they apparently will continue this kind of work anyway despite their data. In contrast, I see the data as a …

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Kimera Labs FDA letter cites exosomes for COVID-19, more issues

Duncan-Ross

A firm called Kimera labs just received an untitled letter from the FDA. The firm has been supplying non-FDA-approved exosomes to various customers including at least one stem cell clinic without sparking any obvious action from the agency, but on April 10th that changed with the letter, which in my view is quite serious. What …

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FDA needs to act boldly on unproven exosome therapies

exosomes-visualized-by-EM

The FDA needs to do more about clinics and suppliers of unproven “exosome therapies.” Dubious exosomes are sadly just the newest gimmick for some firms in the stem cell/regenerative medicine clinic arena right now. They are available at many stem cell and other clinics right now, but who knows what’s in the syringe? Also, people …

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Regenerative medicine recommended reads including $191 million to researcher

Mark-Pennesi-CRISPR-regenerative-medicine-eye

It’s notable how the FDA now considers gene-editing a kind of regenerative medicine. This means that various gene therapy products in development technically qualify as regenerative therapies. Ever since the agency began its rapidly growing regenerative medicine advanced therapy (RMAT) designation program, we’ve seen an increasing number of gene therapy biotechs and products qualify as …

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Heads up on Hui Yang, another potential aspiring CRISPR baby researcher

-Yui-Hang

Making a CRISPR baby is a controversial idea to even propose now for many reasons, yet even after He Jiankui’s train wreck some people have seemed eager to try it including apparently a scientist whose name perhaps many readers here are not so familiar with in this context: Professor Hui Yang. ‘CRISPR baby guys’ Is …

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Mystery of wild sci-fi film ad for unproven exosomes: Liveyon?

awakening-exosome-film-ad

What’s Liveyon up to these days? A new, somewhat mysterious short film that serves as an advertisement for unproven exosomes has some of us scratching our heads. It seems to point to Liveyon. Can you guys as readers of The Niche help solve the puzzle of who’s behind this wild “cinematic commercial” and what the …

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Perspectives on CRISPR baby guy He Jiankui (贺建奎) going to jail

Jiankui-He-who-claims-CRISPR-baby-production

Scientist He Jiankui(贺建奎) has been sentenced to 3 years in prison by Chinese authorities. Two collaborators also will go to jail. A piece in Science by Dennis Normile on the sentencing of He Jiankui ID’d the other two: “His collaborators were identified as Zhang Renli, of a medical institution in Guangdong province, and Qin Jinzhou, from a Shenzhen …

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