One of the most interesting parts of running a website like The Niche is that reader’s questions can sometimes be so striking including recent ones on human cloning. They got me thinking about cloning again. Human cloning & loss of a loved one: things to consider Several readers have recently asked about whether human cloning […]
If you lost a loved one, could you turn to human cloning? Read More »
Organoids and especially brain organoids, which are made from pluripotent stem cells, are one of the most interesting developmental biology technologies of the last half a dozen or so years. Still some folks can’t help but get carried away when thinking about brain organoids it seems. A new Science paper from a team led by
Dissecting that Neanderthal brain organoids Science pub Read More »
How should we view biohackers and their DIY use of CRISPR outside of the traditional industry or academic lab environment? Introduction to “Biohackers” and DIY CRISPR Who are biohackers exactly? They are people who “hack” their own biology by transforming their bodies through the insertion of technology or modification of their DNA. More rarely, biohackers
Perspectives on Biohackers and DIY CRISPR Read More »
The Niche has had many authors over the years, focusing on expertise in the biomedical arena and in particular related to stem cells. I’ve invited many authorities in particular areas to write posts. Over the years I’ve written probably 99+% of the posts here on The Niche, but we’ve also had some great guest authors
Authors on The Niche Read More »
Today’s post includes a list of firms/products that have self-reported that they have received FDA regenerative medicine advanced therapy designation or RMAT. Sometimes people call these “r mat” with a space. I also include FDA data on RMAT submissions via an FDA RMAT resource page. At this point as of May 2025, I have found
Updated FDA granted RMAT List (130) Read More »
One of the hottest topics in the world of stem cells this year has been the REGROW ACT and at a larger level the movement for changes in FDA oversight of investigational regenerative medicine therapies (see my past posts on it here), so the related provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act are stirring much
Chat with Michael Werner of ARM on Cures Act regenerative medicine provisions Read More »
Editors note: This is a guest post from Caroline Simons who is attending the two Paris meetings on human gene editing. For more background on those meetings see here. By Caroline Simons There were just over a hundred participants at the workshop organized by the Federation of European Academies of Medicine, the UK Academy of
Paris human gene editing workshop summary Read More »
CRISPR-ful Noah’s Ark? Even as much of the discussion surrounding powerful new gene editing and cloning technologies has centered on their possible use in humans, the creation of genetically modified (GM) and cloned animals has advanced at warp speed. Some of these efforts have been for research, which is justified. But many seem profit-centered and
Noah’s GMO ark: is it ethical to create GM or cloned animals for sale as pets? Read More »
The classic sci-fi movie Fantastic Voyage keeps coming to mind for me as I see and do research involving organoids. In it, the heroes travel inside of the human body in a craft, observing all kinds of awesome biology in an up close and personal kind of way on route into the brain with the goal
Fantastic organoid voyage: views from inside organoids Read More »
Masayo Takahashi (高橋 政代) on IPSC Trial for Macular Degeneration By Michael Cea Stem Cell Analyst & Advocate (editor’s note: piece was originally posted on Michael’s blog here; follow Michael on Twitter @msemporda) Masayo Takahashi interview Having followed closely the developments in programs using pluripotent based therapeutics I was fortunate during ISSCR2015 to have the opportunity to
Masayo Takahashi (高橋 政代) on IPSC Trial for Vision Read More »