One of the rewarding things about being a scientist is the opportunity to connect and even collaborate with other scientists around the world., but at the same time there is nationalism in science too. Some nations, perhaps most of them, and some scientists feel a sense of competition against others at least some of the time. […]
A role for nationalism in science? Read More »
We’ve heard of payphones, pay toilets, and other services for which people have to pay for access, but what about pay-for-play clinical trials? In a pay clinical trial, patients have to pay anywhere from $10K to over $100K to get in the door. I asked readers of this blog about how they feel about patients
Pay-for-play clinical trials? 70% negative polling Read More »
Donald Trump wants to build a ‘great wall’ to keep Mexicans out of America and charge for it. I’ve heard many scientists criticize this plan. But if you think about it, in science we already have our own “great” harmful walls related to money and Trump would probably love them. One such wall is the paywall
Trump Would Love The Great Walls of Science & Medicine Read More »
There’s a growing trend whereby patients have to pay to be in a clinical trial, which are called pay-to-play clinical trials. Proponents of this idea point toward potential benefits in the form of patients gaining access to innovative therapies. They also argue that this approach provides a much-needed funding mechanism for the trials and that
Poll: How do you feel about pay-to-play clinical trials? Read More »
Several of us here at UC Davis and other Northern California institutions have worked together to organize a unique symposium on CRISPR and genetic modification. You are invited to attend the free meeting, which will take place on May 26th. You can register here. We will cover CRISPR ethics, policy, and law as they relate both
Invitation to attend novel CRISPR ethics & policy symposium Read More »
Remember that CRISPR patent battle? Who really invented CRISPR? If it was many people and labs, who did it first and who deserves the credit? When things like Nobel Prizes and Patents get decided on CRISPR-Cas9, who will be for lack of a better way of putting it, the winners and the losers? It’s not
A hunch on that CRISPR patent battle as it heats up Read More »
It’s exciting that the reviews are starting to come in on my new book, GMO Sapiens, on human genetic modification including CRISPR. Here is one from The Scientist and the book was recommended by Scientific American. Reviews from individual authors and scientists are below. “GMO Sapiens could not be more timely. New technologies like CRISPR-Cas9 gene
Reviews of my new book GMO Sapiens on #CRISPR & human modification Read More »
New genetic modification technology such as CRISPR-Cas9 has opened the door to transformative biological research, but it has also set the table for some novel kinds of technological problems for which we aren’t at all prepared including one that I call the “gene spill”. The striking potential upsides to CRISPR paired with some of the
A new possible environmental disaster: the gene spill Read More »
Clinical research on Type I Diabetes is one of the most exciting and promising areas of stem cells and regenerative medicine for human disease. Two of the coolest companies out there in this arena have been ViaCyte and BetaLogics (owned by J&J). For more on ViaCyte see my interview with President and CEO Paul Laikind
ViaCyte on the Rise: First Diabetes Trial Data & Acquires BetaLogics IP Read More »
Politicians including Trump may start talking about CRISPR more and more in the near future. What if politicians weighed in on CRISPR with Tweets or statements in debates? What if this happened during the particularly charged time of a political campaign such as now? Below is a Saturday science satire in that spirit of imagined Tweets
If Trump & Other Politicians Debated #CRISPR: Saturday Science Satire Read More »