The Japan Times has the first detailed account in English about Haruko Obokata’s new book, “That Day”. HT to blog reader Shinsakan. (update: another helpful piece on this from the WSJ). In the book, Obokata (who was widely blamed for the STAP cell fiasco) seeks to shift the blame to others according to the paper. […]
Obokata claims she was framed for STAP cell scandal Read More »
Last week I blogged about how the FDA had issued a warning letter to a series of three co-owned fat stem cell clinics across the US. What does this FDA action mean on the broader stem cell clinic arena, particularly to those selling fat stem cells? The FDA is still in the process of getting public comment
FDA warning points to tougher regulation of fat stem cells & clinics Read More »
The stem cell arena is a complicated universe with a whole range of things going on at any one time and there’s usually ample negative things, but not all is bad news. It’s interesting to regularly look specifically at the good stem cell news out there. Below is a look at some top pieces of
Stem cell good news to start 2016 Read More »
I was eating my Sunday breakfast and reading the SacBee, when a full-page ad for a stem cell clinic jumped out at me. I dropped my toast onto the plate and grabbed my iPhone to take a picture. The ad is for Nervana Stem Cell Centers in Sacramento. A little research on their website revealed
Fat & amniotic stem cell clinic Nervana opens in Sacramento Read More »
Just how often do press releases (PR) get science wrong? A new paper came out from the lab of Matthias Lutolf in Nature Materials that seems interesting. Using a special matrix, reprogramming of cells reportedly worked better. Good stuff. However, a (PR) from the home institution of EPFL and media pick up on the story used
Squeeze PR on stem cell paper evokes STAP cell bad vibrations, gets corrected Read More »
Patients are increasingly being used as guinea pigs in the stem cell for-profit clinic world via what I call stem cell shot-in-the-dark procedures. The clinics have no logical basis for claiming that these treatments work and are safe. As the number of stem cell clinics continues to grow in the US and more physicians add on
A stem cell shot in the dark: clinics experiment on patients Read More »
I try to catch up on my science reading over the weekends and evenings. Here’s my recommended weekend reading on stem cells & science. Did I miss anything especially cool? Let me know in the comments. Direct reprogramming of skin cells into insulin-producing cells. I love direct reprogramming. Healios and Athersys Enter Into Regenerative Medicine Partnership.
Recommended weekend reading on stem cells & science Read More »
Forget retracting a paper, could Paolo Macchiarini try to get a retraction of Vanity Fair piece on his wild personal life an CV? Macchiarini is one of the more well-known stem cell and regenerative medicine researchers, and not always related to good news. You can see read posts I’ve done on him on this blog including
Vanity Fair Dissects Stem Cell Surgeon Macchiarini in Exposé Read More »
What will the new year have in store for stem cells? 2016 promises to have many striking stem cell developments. Below are my top 20 stem cell predictions for what is to come this year in no particular order. Share your stem cell tea leaves in the comments please. Another stem cell biotech acquisition by pharma
List of 20 stem cell predictions for 2016 Read More »
Shinya Yamanaka is one of my favorite fellow scientists. His research is creative and rigorous along with having huge clinical implications. At the same time, Dr. Yamanaka sees the big picture and he’s very open about talking about real life as a scientist. I really appreciate both levels. In the past I interviewed him for
Takeaways from new Yamanaka (山中伸弥) stem cell interview Read More »