The odds of Mitt Romney becoming our next President seem to be increasing. If Romney becomes our next president, what will he do about stem cells? He’ll be an active enemy of embryonic stem cell research. He’ll support the crazy personhood movement. Why do I say that? Earlier this year I had a run in […]
If Romney wins, look for extremist Witherspoon Council to control his stem cell policy Read More »
I was fortunate enough to do my postdoctoral studies at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (aka “The Hutch”) in Seattle. I was a postdoc for more years than I’d like to admit, but it was a wonderful experience. The Hutch is the kind of place where you can imagine making the impossible become possible
A tribute to Nobel Laureate E. Donnall Thomas, a true stem cell pioneer Read More »
A team from the Salk Institute in La Jolla led by Inder Verma has reported dedifferentiation in a paper in Science some important findings that I believe make their paper in the top 10 as a candidate for paper of the year. The paper, entitled “Dedifferentiation of Neurons and Astrocytes by Oncogenes Can Induce Gliomas
Dedifferentiation of neurons & astrocytes into glioma forming cells Read More »
The FDA warning letter that Celltex received in late September (but that just went public yesterday–see my initial reaction here) is a possible game-changer for that company in my opinion. Why? The letter outlined in great detail the FDA’s concerns with how Celltex manufactures its stem cell product ranging from lack of documentation to concerns about aseptic/sterile
Will stem cell clinic Celltex reinvent itself after game-changing FDA warning letter? Read More »
Did Dr. Hisashi Moriguchi really transplant iPS cells into human patients? The story has the stem cell field abuzz. My mind keeps changing on this one as earlier today I thought the whole thing maybe was a bunch of fluff, but now there is yet another new article (see headline below) in the Daily Yomiuri providing
The iPS cell field has run fast and furious over the past 6 years reaching a big milestone surprisingly quickly on Monday with Shinya Yamanaka winning the Nobel Prize. But is the field going too fast? In August I argued that iPS cells are not quite ready for primetime (i.e. clinical trial studies). Now in
Are iPS cells being rushed to the clinic or has their time come? Read More »
The great news of Yamanaka and Gurdon getting the Nobel Prize for cellular reprogramming is still resonating in the stem cell field. My heartfelt congratulations to two amazing biologists! Also still ringing in my ears from so many people contacting me about what is becoming a somewhat infamous “empty” third slot that the Nobel Committee
I believe and have argued for years that Shinya Yamanaka, the discoverer of induced pluripotent stem cells (aka iPS cells) deserves the Nobel Prize. I’m very glad today that he received it. Some readers may find it a bit ironic that I believe so strongly in this way since over the years I have often
Why Yamanaka deserved the Nobel Prize for induced pluripotent stem cells Read More »
Stem cell revolutionaries Drs. Shinya Yamanaka and John Gurdon have won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Gurdon cloned for the first animal, a frog, and Yamanaka produced induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), a kind of stem cell with the power of pluripotency, but derived from ordinary non-stem cells. Gurdon’s work was based
Nobel Prize 2012 for stem cells to Yamanaka & Gurdon: why only 2? Read More »
Top stem cell meetings and conferences. If you want me to post your meeting, email me or post a comment (I’ll delete the comment and add the meeting to the main page). Meetings from 2012 can be found here. My listing of these meetings is not an endorsement of them, but is provided for informational
Stem Cell Meetings & Conferences 2013 Read More »