The grapevine is afire with the Geron news and there are many interpretations out there of what it means and why it happened. Based on several accounts from folks who remain anonymous, here is the most probable prediction of what happened to lead us to yesterday’s announcement. Geron has been worried for a long time […]
The Scarlett letter? What the experts really think about Geron Read More »
Reportedly, Geron has decided to only focus on cancer research and for financial reasons has shut down its hESC trial for spinal cord injury. This is a very sad day for stem cell science. (Update in 2020: the firm still exists, but is working in different areas. The stock has struggled.) No more spinal cord
Bad news as Geron to quit hESC SCI trial for financial reasons Read More »
Tomorrow night voters in Mississippi will vote on the so-called “Personhood Amendment”. If passed, the amendment would make a fertilized egg by definition a human being with the same rights as a living, breathing, thinking, walking person in the state of Mississippi. The consequences are not clear, but possibilities include such things as complete bans on
Why Horton was wrong: a person is not a person no matter how small, even in Mississippi Read More »
Every now and then I do a post on something fun and non-science related, and today it’s all about Seattle. Since it’s Friday, don’t you wish you were on vacation in Seattle? If you can ever imagine visiting Seattle in the near future, bookmark this page because I give suggestions for great things (some that
Six fun, amazing, sometimes secret things to do in Seattle Read More »
In response to our post on the recent New Scientist article, which we felt had an anti-ES cell bent, Roger Highfield has responded. He wrote: New Scientist has always backed well-conducted research on ES cells and I have voiced my own support many times, notably in After Dolly (written with Ian Wilmut). And I am
Comment from Roger Highfield, editor of The New Scientist Read More »
In mid-November the Catholic Church, in fact the Vatican itself, will do something it has never done before in its very long existence. It will hold a conference on stem cells. Perhaps equally unusual and of interest is the fact that the basis for this conference is a $1 million (USD) gamble by the Vatican
More on the Vatican $1 million gamble on NeoStem and their upcoming conference in Rome Read More »
When I talk to people about stem cell science and the timeline for turning data into treatments and cures, their reactions completely depend on whom they are. Scientists are patient, perhaps too patient….perhaps too understanding of the many years that we are told that science takes to get something to the clinic. Patients and patient
Is it fair to tell a patient to be patient? Read More »
Should men get a PSA test for prostate cancer? The same federal panel that recommended that women in their 40s not get routine mammograms has now come forth with the statement that PSA testing men for detection of prostate cancer should be stopped. I think it is not that simple and I still believe in
Should men get a PSA test for prostate cancer? Yes, but….. Read More »
Are street smarts important in science? Some of the smartest people I have ever met in my life were scientists. But some of these same people made the dumbest mistakes I have ever seen in my life. Why? Their raw brainpower and knowledge of science is amazing, but they seemed to lack common sense and
Science street smarts: how to succeed in science in the real world Read More »
This is just the first in a series “Tales from the hood” about the stories of the stem cell scientists at the front lines of research. What really goes on in labs? After spending nearly half of my life being a scientist in one form or another including much time studying stem cells, I have
Tales from the Hood: what really goes on in research labs? Read More »