It seems hard to believe it was a year ago that the STAP cell Nature papers came out to much fanfare on January 29, 2014. These now discredited and retracted papers reported a supposed new method to easily make reprogrammed powerful stem cells, a finding touted as a Nobel Prize-worthy discovery. Now a year later on […]
Personal Reflections on STAP Cell Mess On 1-Year Anniversary Read More »
When I started blogging in 2010 the stem cell arena was a very different place including the fact I could count the number of US stem cell clinics on one hand. This blog, called The Niche for many years, was just “Knoepfler Stem Cell Blog” back then. Also, back then the hot topic was the
Stem cell clinics, FDA, & giant, unapproved for-profit human experiments Read More »
The stem cell company Stemedica along with Mexican partner Novastem conducted a stem cell intervention on hockey legend Gordie Howe, who had suffered strokes in 2014. This situation has sparked a lot of discussion and media attention including a recent interview with Stemedica leadership on the Keith Olbermann show on ESPN. For balance and fairness
Stemedica reply to Olbermann interview on Gordie Howe Read More »
The stem cell company Stemedica has made a name for itself in the media lately through hockey legend Gordie Howe, who received a non-FDA approved stem cell “treatment” in Mexico via Stemedica and its partner, Novastem. Howe, known as Mr. Hockey, had several strokes in late 2014 and his health was declining. Stemedica and Novastem
Olbermann Puff Interview on Stemedica & Gordie Howe Read More »
The Texas stem cell clinic Celltex was one of the most controversial businesses in the world of stem cells in 2012 and 2013 (see here for background and as an update see this new post on how the Texas clinic has teamed up with a local university). The FDA essentially shut down the Celltex clinical
Arthritis Foundation Sell Out To Stem Cell Clinic Celltex? Read More »
This week the big Winnipeg Free Press story on the Regenetek/Doug Broeska alleged stem cell fraud case broke (covered here on this blog). David Audley was quoted in the story as a Regenetek spokesperson so I asked him for further comment and below is what he emailed me for this post. David Audley: “1. GoodPartners
More on alleged stem cell clinic fraud: statement from David Audley Read More »
Who is Doug Broeska and what is Regenetek a Canadian stem cell company doing that is drawing attention of authorities? The Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that Regenetek faces serious charges related to for-profit stem cell therapies. (Update: a followup story in the Free Press has been published). A very thorough article in the newspaper
Stem cell clinic & Doug Broeska face stem cell fraud allegations Read More »
A heated series of discussions on stem cell publications is ongoing on the Post-publication review (post-pub) website, PubPeer, which has been called by a PubPeer user “The stem cell shoot out“. This “shoot out” goes well beyond the one page on PubPeer. It is notable to see that the authors of the papers that are the
PubPeer “Stem Cell Shoot Out” & STAP 2.0 Clarification Read More »
One of the most exciting developments in the biomedical sciences in 2014 was the announcement of the new Allen Institute for Cell Science. This new institute, which will be focused on cell biology, received $100 million in funding from high-tech pioneer and philanthropist, Paul Allen. I am very curious about how the institute will tackle cell
Horwitz Interview Zooms in on Allen Cell Institute: the GoogleMaps of Cells Read More »
Can hearts repair themselves via stem cell mechanisms including possibly their own stem cells? It’s a hot topic question at the center of a big debate in the stem cell field. My inclination at present is that the answer is most likely “no” at this point, but that could change and it’s important to keep
Can hearts fix themselves via stem cells? Read More »