Institutional review boards or IRBs are some of the biggest enablers of risky, unproven stem cell clinics. We often see statements on stem cell clinic websites to the effect that they have approvals from IRBs so the clinic firms must think that patients like to see that. Why would specific IRBs approve for-profit “experiments” by […]
FDA needs to quickly act against IRBs enabling risky fat stem cell clinics Read More »
Stem cells for baldness? Where does that stand? Can hair loss be reversed using stem cells? I get asked these kinds of questions regularly here on The Niche that all converge on the issue of whether there might be a stem cell treatment for baldness soon. For that reason every couple of years I do
Stem cells for baldness: any progress in 2019? Read More »
Japan is a leader in stem cell and regenerative medicine research, and in particular in clinical translation toward the bedside. Induced pluripotent stem cell (IPSC)-based investigational therapies are rightly an area of focus in Japan given their invention by Nobel Laureate Shinya Yamanaka. Small clinical studies based on IPSC have been initiated there for several
Japan stem cell clinical studies rapidly piling up Read More »
Maybe the announcement that Commissioner Scott Gottlieb will be leaving the FDA soon shouldn’t have caught us all off-guard, but it did. Gottlieb isn’t a perfect Commissioner, but he brought a sensible, open approach to running the FDA that was very refreshing. Amongst all the top leadership in the Trump administration, Scott Gottlieb stood out
Scott Gottlieb leaving FDA: possible reasons, impact on stem cell field, & more Read More »
Every so often here on The Niche I list science and news articles worth a look as “weekend reads”. Below is my list for this weekend. Enjoy! The first article doesn’t really fit into the other main categories, but the title “herding brains” caught my eye. Stem Cells Stem cells and regenerative capacity in aging
Weekend reads include herding brains, stem cells, & CRISPR Read More »
Who are the top stem cell and regenerative medicine influencers to follow on Twitter and elsewhere in 2019? Terrapin asked this kind of broad question to some within our community about 5 years ago and came up with a Top 50 list of stem cell influencers, which I like to joke I was “at the top
50 stem cell influencers on Twitter to follow in 2019 Read More »
Something very strange just happened at the journal Nature related to what’s called Muse cells. Kudos to them for dealing with it quickly though. They published an unreviewed research “article” on controversial (perhaps non-existent) stem cells called “Muse cells” that was actually a paid advertisement. After I communicated with the Nature team eventually they ended up
Nature yanks article that was actually advertisement on controversial stem cells Read More »
When the FDA has a major problem with something, it can issue a warning letter or more rarely it can file suit in court for an injunction against the particular party. The FDA has now done both of these things on different fronts with Beverly Hills stem cell clinic doctor and cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Mark Berman.
What new papers and news in the stem cell sphere caught your eye? Here are some recent items that seem notable to me. Diabetes relief in mice by glucose-sensing insulin-secreting human α-cells. This paper reports cellular reprogramming to insulin-producing cells in mice. They reprogrammed α-cells with Pdx1 and MafA proteins. ‘Mitophagy inhibits amyloid-β and tau pathology and reverses
Recent stem cell pubs & news: reprogramming, chromatin, single-cell, Astellas, & more Read More »
I keep a yearly hub of stem cell & regenerative medicine meetings here on The Niche. Below I’ve pasted the list for 2019, which continues to grow. If you don’t see yours listed, send me an email with the info including a link (knoepflerATucdavisDOTedu). These meeting listings are not endorsements and I try to make
Stem cell & regenerative medicine meetings for you to go to in 2019 Read More »