The pioneering induced pluripotent stem cell (IPSC) clinical study in Japan led by top stem cell clinical researcher Dr. Masayo Takahashi has been stopped reports the WSJ in Japan. This development is confirmed by other sources and in a PDF report by RIKEN (in Japanese here). One patient was transplanted in September 2014 with their own IPSC-derived […]
Landmark IPSC clinical study on hold due to genomic issue Read More »
Organoids are pretty big in stem cells right now with the last couple of years having attracted a lot of media attention on mini lungs, mini brains, mini kidneys, mini guts and more, giving the impression that scientists know how to specify and organise cells into mini functional organs in the lab. Organoids have become
Carla Kim & Hans Clevers talks on organoids at #ISSCR2015 Read More »
The day of plenary is the most enjoyable in my view including at ISSCR 2015 on the first day with a Yamanaka talk. You don’t need to make the choice between sessions and the judgement on the viability of shifting sessions versus staying put and listening to the slightly less relevant. ISSCR 2015 plenary was,
Overview of Yamanaka Talk at #ISSCR2015 by Heather Main Read More »
At the recent RPI stem cell and bioengineering meeting, the Neural Stem Cell Institute’s Sally Temple talked about her group’s intriguing retinal pigmented epithelial cell (RPE) research. With the broad focus of attention in the world of RPEs mostly on those derived from either human ESC or IPSC, it was exciting to here about the
Sally Temple on adult RPEs for vision impairment, IND, & more Read More »
The idea that we could bioengineer new human body parts to replace old, faulty ones is exciting, and such parts could include limbs, digits, or even entire organs. Such replacements might be produced using stem cells, 3-D printers, and other rapidly evolving, cutting edge technologies. Sci-fi is becoming a reality. Remember in Star Wars when
Will bioengineered body parts cost an arm and a leg? Read More »
What is morally acceptable and where do we draw the line at behaviors that might just go too far such as human reproductive cloning? Over the years American attitudes have shifted on a number of potentially hot button moral behaviors including reproductive human cloning and pollsters including Gallup have tracked these attitudes. Gallup just came out
Americans relatively more comfortable with human cloning Read More »
CIRM has reinvented itself in a new form, CIRM 2.0, under the leadership of its new President Randy Mills. CIRM is almost like a stem cell that has changed into another new kind of stem cell. Us scientists could see the change coming in the “programming” at CIRM in terms of how it was operating as
CIRM 2.0 starts off with a bang Read More »
As CRISPR gene editing technology has advanced in the last few years, the number of genetically modified animals made with this system has steadily increased. Some are very interesting and useful for science. At the same time especially when they are little, they can be very cute. A nickname is going around for these GM
CRISPR critters: Cute pics of Cas9 gene edited animals Read More »
Many of us scientists, ethicists, and legal scholars are working on educational outreach to the public on the potential use of gene editing technologies like CRISPR to genetically modify human beings, but clearly there’s a long way to go and much more to do on this front. By the way, you may find this new
Public polling on human gene editing, moratorium Read More »
A decade ago I wrote an article in the journal Nature Biotechnology about the rise of a new gene editing technology called zinc finger nucleases (ZNF). It was one of those “drumbeat” discoveries: at the time, my sense was it would revolutionize how we deliver genes to cells and tissues, and profoundly change the way
Guest Post by Chris Scott–The Great CRISPR Controversy: What’s Next? Read More »