The FDA has sent a Warning Letter to the Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center. The leader of Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center is Dr. Thomas Gionis and the letter was addressed to him. Interestingly, this letter, dated December 30, 2015, contains redactions. At one time this clinic was part of the larger Cell Surgical Network (CSN) […]
FDA Warning Letter to Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center Clinics Across US 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 »
It’s been a busy few weeks for the stem cell field. Below are some news briefs on developments. RetractionWatch reports that Piero Anversa is leaving Harvard/Brigham and Women’s Hospital after an investigation and dismissed lawsuit he filed against the institution. All still quiet on the STAP cell front at the same institutions. There’s some more
Stem Cell News Briefs: Anversa, Japan Regs, Ocata Suit, More Read More »
After 5 plus years as “Knoepfler Lab Stem Cell Blog”, we are now going by a new, broader name for the blog, The Niche. The Niche name better represents the sense that this site is a home and community including contributions by other writers and also commenters. I’m still working on a logo for The
A new name for this stem cell blog: The Niche Read More »
Today marks nearing the completion of a full circle for one of science’s biggest controversies: the STAP cell fiasco. Today STAP cells are completely refuted with the publication of two new papers in Nature and we know much more–with some notable gaps still–about what went wrong. STAP cells debunked In January of last year, an
New Nature papers debunk STAP cells Read More »
Ready for some stem cell good news? It can be difficult at times in a cutting edge field like stem cells in terms of keeping upbeat about hopes of rapid translation to help patients with real, proven therapies. It takes a long time, money, dedication, and even a bit of luck for the researchers and
6 recent stem cell good news stories including on liver disease Read More »
Last week I attended Biotech & the Ethical Imagination (BEINGS 2015), the summit I previewed on this blog back in early May. It many ways the summit lived up to its lofty ambitions. Steven Pinker kicked off the event by emphasizing the power and importance of biomedical research, noting that almost everyone is affected by
Recap of BEINGS 2015 Meeting by Aaron Levine: Shaping Future of Cellular Biotech Read More »
A decade ago I wrote an article in the journal Nature Biotechnology about the rise of a new gene editing technology called zinc finger nucleases (ZNF). It was one of those “drumbeat” discoveries: at the time, my sense was it would revolutionize how we deliver genes to cells and tissues, and profoundly change the way
Guest Post by Chris Scott–The Great CRISPR Controversy: What’s Next? Read More »
On Thursday here at UC Davis School of Medicine we held our second annual Stem Cell Ethics Symposium. The symposium was organized by Drs. Mark Yarborough and Nanette Joyce as well as me. In this post I report on key take homes from the meeting and summarize the specific talks. As far as I know, this is one of the few
Meeting review of unique stem cell ethics symposium at UC Davis School of Medicine Read More »
A lot has happened in 2014 in the stem cell and regenerative medicine field and so much of it has been good news so let’s focus on the positive. These positive developments are often the result of many years of creative, hard work by amazing teams of researchers. Here is my top 10 list of
Positive Stem Cell Developments in 2014 Read More »