If you care about contraception, you need to understand stem cells. And if you care about stem cells you should know more about birth control. Why? There is a big media to-do about federal guidelines related to health care organizations providing birth control. President Obama has gotten into the fray and in fact just today […]
What do stem cells have to do with contraception? Read More »
Do we still need iPS cells if transdifferentiation is so cool? Wait, how did we get to the point that people are asking me that extreme question? When iPS cells were first introduced to the world by Shinya Yamanaka, who I think will win the Nobel Prize sometime in the next few years, some folks went
Transdifferentiation does not make iPS cells obsolete Read More »
Lately I have been critical of an ultra-conservative political think tank-like foundation called the Witherspoon Institute. They have recently joined the federal lawsuit as friends of the plaintiffs suing to stop federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. The Witherspoon Council has just published a 100+ page report on stem cells in the very conservative, somewhat obscure
A critique of the Witherspoon Institute stem cell report Read More »
Just when I thought that the myths about stem cells, particularly embryonic stem cells, couldn’t get any more fantastic (as in based on fantasy), we have some bright folks out there thinking that soda (pop, coke, pepsi, whatever you call it) is made using embryonic stem cells. The headline goes: Pepsi is using embryonic stem cells
Stem cells in my Pepsi? New crazy stem cell myths Read More »
For a long time many of us in the stem cell field have been worried about dubious stem cell treatments, so-called ‘stem cell tourism’. How do we stop it or at least fight back to keep people safe and help them avoid losing what is often their life savings? Many activities related to stem cell
The ultimate antidote to stem cell tourism in the U.S. Read More »
There was another federal indictment just handed down that alleges that one Francisco Morales (aka Dr. Frank Morales) broke the law with stem cells. Allegedly he took umbilical cords (telling patients that they would be used for medical research), facilitated isolation of stem cells, and shipped them out of state to be used in dubious
Indicted alleged stem cell predator Morales & Margolis: any links? Read More »
Last year around this time I presented my first stem cell awards of the year, in that case for 2010. You can see whom I thought deserved awards here. Now it is time for our 2011 stem cell awards. These awards reflect my opinions and those not mentioned will hopefully forgive me as there is
Stem Cell Awards for 2011 Read More »
A year from now will I still be conducted federally funded research on human ES cells? What about the hundreds of other professors in the U.S. and their thousands of employees? It is not unreasonable at this point to forecast a perfect storm in Fall 2012 that may kill elements of stem cell research that
The perfect storm in Fall 2012 that may kill ES cells research Read More »
Today, an authoritative article was published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) that included some of the most comprehensive polling of attitudes in the U.S. and around the world on embryonic stem cell (ESC) or ES cell research. Their findings indicate very widespread and deep support for ESC research around the globe including in
New England Journal of Med: most Americans support ES cell research Read More »
Many of us have been discouraged by Geron decision to end their stem cell program, which included products based on human embryonic stem (ES) cells, but let’s keep some perspective on this and not give up hope. The opponents of hope want us to give up. They who have waged their own self-proclaimed war on
Perspectives on Geron ending stem cell program Read More »