Update in 2020: It seems now after all these years that the consensus in the now more mature field is that IPSCs and ESCs are nearly identical in most cases, and both have some of the same translational challenges such as teratoma-forming activity. It’s interesting to read this post from nearly 10 years ago and […]
iPS cells coming into focus: not quite so similar to ESC after all Read More »
How promising is the idea of stem cells for MS? I have been working slowly as time permits on a piece more specifically about hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for MS. Two new pieces caught my eye on this topic so I’ll start with those. Stem cells for MS NurOwn Found Safe, Shows Promise in
Weekly reads: stem cells for MS, blood origins, iPSCs Read More »
Does aging do something to time so it seems like as you get older that time goes by faster? Remember as a little kid when summer seemed to last forever and car rides could be agonizingly long? I’ve heard two theories on this. One is that the brain’s baseline of activity slows down with aging
Weekly stem cell reads: aging & cells, iPS cell mutations, gut, more Read More »
Where do things stand today in 2020 with IPS cell research? It’s been 14 years since they were first reported, but they continue to make news. Back in 2006 I was wrapping up my postdoc with Bob Eisenman at The Hutch in Seattle, largely studying Myc, when Shinya Yamanaka published his first induced pluripotent stem
IPS cell field update: easy culture, Parkinson’s, scarring, immune cells, & mutations Read More »
What happens following pluripotent stem cell transplants into the brain? Are human IPS and ES cells going to function similarly in this context? We recently published a new translational paper on the behavior of human pluripotent stem cells when transplanted into the adult mouse brain in collaboration with my great UC Davis colleague, Dr. Veronica Martinez-Cerdeno.
It’s a particularly exciting time for the stem cell field. One of the most notable developments in the last year or so is the production and preliminary study of a totally new type of human embryonic stem cells (ESC) made by nuclear transfer instead of using leftover in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos. This process of so-called
Dieter Egli Interview: NT-ES cells, IPSC, Mitochondrial Transfer, & More Read More »
Many folks believe that if you can kill or otherwise inactivate cancer stem cells, you’ve gone a long way to curing many types of cancer. However the cells have remained elusive. Now, Mick Bhatia’s lab has found that the antipsychotic drug, Thioridazine, has activity against cancer stem cells. The work, published in Cell (read paper
How seriously should we take tech bro manifestos? Also, what do the tech bros — the billionaires and centimillionaires who made their fortunes founding, running, or investing in tech companies — have to say specifically about the future of biology including regenerative medicine and stem cell research related to AI? A fair bit, as it
Tech Bro Manifestos, AI, and the Future of Biology (& Stem Cells) Read More »
What are coral stem cells? It turns out that even corals have stem cells and they can grow new corals. Six years ago I found myself in the lucky position of snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Stem cells were not on my mind. I did notice large areas of bleached and dead
Weekly reads: coral stem cells to the rescue, diabetes Read More »
Intermittent fasting must be good for stem cells, right? It’s not so clear. Like many things in biology, intermittent fasting can have seemingly opposite effects. Before we get into that, the news of the week is that the FDA approved Mesoblast’s Ryoncil MSC drug for some cases of pediatric GvHD. This has sparked lively discussion.
Weekly reads: intermittent fasting and stem cells, vet warning, blastemas Read More »