Have I got a stem cell for you! We hear a lot about the dangers of an increasing number of rogue stem cell clinics, but another critical trend has flown more under the radar: direct marketing of stem cells to doctors. This is big business and arguably one of the biggest threats to patients. In […]
Stem cell black market emerging in the U.S. Read More »
The field of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) has really shaken up science over the last half dozen years reversing our notion that differentiated cells are stuck in that fate, when in reality they are plastic and can “turn back the clock” to become embryonic stem cell-like cells. Now we have an iPSC paper in Nature,
Surprising human mosaicism means not all your cells have the same DNA Read More »
I predict by 2015 most major journals will have ended their hardcopy print versions and will be entirely digital. It just makes good sense from so many perspectives including financially and from an environmental view. This is a radical change from just a few decades ago. During my youngest childhood years, there were no personal
Digital prediction: the end of print science journals Read More »
Why are some scientists so inept socially and end up in struggles interacting with other people? Kindergarten! Yes, my theory is that many of the key events are traceable to kindergarten and more specifically to what future scientists failed to learn then even if they technically passed the class and moved on to first grade.
Is blogging for scientists a good idea? With my concise advice below, you should be ready to get started. I say, “Go for it!” I know there are quite a lot of people interested in starting to blog, but perhaps a bit uncertain or even intimidated by the idea. I think this is especially true
Top ten tips for blogging for scientists Read More »
Open access publishing is getting a lot of attention. Taxpayer supported government grants + scientists’ work = closed access publisher profits (derived from payments from taxpayers + scientists) This simple equation embodies all that is wrong with today’s predominant system of publishing. In fact, it is an indictment of closed access publishers. The profits of
The case for open access publishing embodied in a single equation Read More »
Why don’t professors blog and do social media? Why am I the only professor with a stem cell blog across the globe (if there are other please let me know)? Why do I do this blog? I’ve written before about why I blog and listed the numerous blogs about stem cells out there that I
Academia’s love-hate relationship with social media Read More »
In the biomedical sciences we do a huge number of experiments on cells grown in culture including human cell lines. Where do all these cells come from? It’s an important question to ask. I got my first job in science as a fairly low level technician working at UCSD in La Jolla and my main
Where do my cells come from? Read More »
Plz “Like” my 2 photos for the Cell I See contest on FB! Click to see images and then “Like them” Paul Photo 1 and Paul Photo 2 Thanks! Paul
Cell I See Stem Cell Photo Contest. I need your help! Read More »
Who discovered stem cells? It goes back further than you might think. Is it even possible that one scientific team all by themselves discovered something so ubiquitous as stem cells? In theory yes. However, after research including this in Cell Stem Cell, I believe that no one group discovered stem cells. Also, if you ask the
Who discovered stem cells & when? Some fun science history Read More »