Now and then we will revisit some of our most popular posts and/or posts with the most comments. One of the best: The Monster Tumor: What is a teratoma really? You can go to the link above to read the original post and comments but I’ve pasted the post itself below. In stem cell research […]
Greatest hits: What is a teratoma? Read More »
Someone once said that in any war there is going to be propaganda, but what about stem cell propaganda? The same seems to be true for war that extreme right-wing conservatives are waging against stem cell research and researchers. A prime example is an article today in the National Review by David Klinghoffer entitled “The
The Anti-Stem Cell Propaganda Machine Read More »
For many of us in the biomedical research field, we have always wanted to be a professor and run our own research lab even if it meant the gauntlet of the dreaded academic job search. For some it is fair to say that that goal is really a passion, a dream. However, to achieve
Advice for the academic job search Read More »
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkSaAhbceBk How we choose or heroes, our Supermen and Superwomen, says a lot about who we are. There’s a scene (above) in one of the Superman movies, starring Christopher Reeve, where Lex Luther puts a Kryptonite necklace on Superman. Superman is powerless around Kryptonite and collapses to the ground. I always remember that scene because
Who do you call Superman? Read More »
The tragic 9.0 earthquake and tsunamis that hit Japan a few weeks ago are having lasting consequences not only for Japan, but also for the world via radiation. One area of particular concern is the radiation that has leaked and is continuing to leak from the damaged nuclear reactors. At this point, the radiation
A reality check on the radiation spreading across the globe Read More »
What is RNA-based iPS cell research? It was only six months ago that the stem cell field was aflutter over the report by the Rossi group that they could reprogram iPS cells with an astonishingly high efficiency using just RNAs. This completely non-genetic, high-efficiency approach seemed like a revolution for the iPS cell field. It
Is RNA-based iPS cell production a flash in the pan/tissue culture dish? Read More »
What’s going on with legislation on ES cell research in Minnesota? I blogged before about how Oklahoma legislators were heading toward passing legislation that would make it a crime to do ES cell research. Unfortunately, that legislation just passed. As if that were not bad enough, now potentially life saving research in Minnesota is starting
Opponents of ES cell research launch stealth attack in Minnesota Read More »
How are things looking for the stem cell field for Spring 2011? Issue One. Getting to the clinic. At this point, Geron and ACT have their FDA-approved clinical trials underway using derivatives of human embryonic stem cells. As expected no news has leaked out on how things are going and it may well be Fall
Update on the stem cell field: Spring 2011 Read More »
A group of researchers led by Evan Snyder (paper discussed here) published a paper in PNAS on a new type of neural stem-like cell whose pluripotency can be turned ON or OFF by turning the v-myc gene ON or OFF using a conditional system of expression, called a “Tet-ON” system. In this system, tetracycline or its
“Alternative” to IPS cells, ICSP, are very cool, but for now a no-go for the FDA Read More »
Just how tumorigenic are iPS cells? The field really doesn’t know at this point. However, a steady stream of papers have raised red flag after red flag about genomic and epigenomic alterations/mutations that are linked to cancer. Of course, then there is the fact that all the genetic changes actually used to make reprogrammed cells
Secret Not so Secret Recipe for Safer iPS cells Read More »