Every year I look into my stem cell crystal ball and make a top 10 list of stem cell predictions for the coming year. My predictions for 2015 will be coming up soon and I may bump them up to 20 predictions instead of 10 because there’s so much going on in the field. Stay […]
Stem cell crystal ball: how did my 2014 predictions fare? Read More »
Change is in the air for the California stem cell agency, CIRM. It has a new President, Randy Mills, and CIRM is soon going to be like a new agency too. I recently did an interview with Mills that illuminates some of the big changes that are imminent. I also asked him what his favorite
Radical Vision for CIRM Future: Interview with New Prez Mills Read More »
An open letter to CIRM. By Jeanne Loring As the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) celebrates its successes on its 10th anniversary, there is coincidentally a less happy CIRM-related event. One of CIRM’s first investments in stem cell research was a network of dedicated stem cell laboratories throughout California. This program, called “shared labs”
Loring, et al. Open Letter to CIRM: Continue Shared Labs Read More »
Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal, 28, is following in the dubious footsteps of many sports stars turning to questionable stem cell “treatments” to relieve what ails them and potentially extend their careers. Nadal (pictured at right in image from Wikipedia) will receive what appears to be a laboratory-grown stem cell product from Dr. Angel Ruiz-Cotorro. ESPN
Tennis Star Nadal to Get Dubious Stem Cell Treatment Read More »
CIRM issued a press release (PR) a few days ago unveiling CIRM 2.0, a new form of the agency and funding of novel efforts. The PR focused on action by its Governing Board to fund three Alpha Clinic programs for $8 million each at City of Hope (LA), UCLA, and UCSD. The Alpha Clinics will
CIRM 2.0 Launches Alpha Clinics & Continues Bridges Program Read More »
Guest post on Research Misconduct. By Zubin Master Scientist Yoshiki Sasai, age 52, committed suicide and was found dead on August 5, 2014. Sasai was deputy director of the Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) at RIKEN in Kobe, Japan, and coauthor on two recently retracted Nature papers about a reportedly easier way to make induced
Ted Harada is a wonderful patient advocate for the stem cell field and for the development of safe and effective stem cell products to treat ALS. Ted has ALS and received stem cell-based treatments for it with surprising, very encouraging results. The Harada family is pictured at left with Ted, his wife Michelle as well as
Ted Harada Interview Part 1: Stem Cells for ALS, More Read More »
What the heck happened to the FDA when it comes to regulating stem cell clinics? Has it given up? Or does it just seem that way because it moves in slow motion? The FDA might as well have thrown in the towel because, as I like to say, the stem cell field moves in dog years.
Has the FDA given up on regulating stem cell clinics? Read More »
When bioethicist Arthur Caplan talks about stem cells, people pay close attention and for good reason. Caplan has provided important perspectives on the stem cell field over the years. For example, you can see a guest post on this blog here about human cloning. However, in my post today I respectfully discuss how I disagree with several parts of this week’s piece by
Arthur Caplan Article on Bogus Stem Cell Research: Some Different Views Read More »
They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and more specifically I say that a little stem cell training for MDs, such as from A4M, can potentially be a dangerous problem too. I’ve been very concerned about self-proclaimed “stem cell training courses” for MDs. These kinds of courses have claimed that over as short as a
Will Speedy A4M Stem Cell Course for Docs Put Patients at Risk? Read More »