Is a head transplant actually going to be an option for extending life or changing what it means to be human? What about brain transplants? Let’s lump head and brain transplants together. Any possibility of this happening in coming decades? How close are we to that reality in 2023? In today’s post I give an update. […]
Head transplant surgery update & fact check Read More »
Each year I metaphorically try to look into a crystal ball for stem cell predictions for the coming year and I did so for 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic threw a monkey wrench into my predictions. It actually kind of blew some up. It also raised some interesting questions and dilemmas. For instance, do many
Grading my 20 stem cell predictions for 2020 Read More »
The stem cell paper of the week is a fun one about how capsaicin and nociceptors reportedly mobilize blood stem cells. However, since the authors only show this in mice, could it also happen in humans? They argue it’s likely happening in people too. Note that nociceptors are special structures in our bodies that sense
Spicy stem cell pathways & other recommended reads Read More »
Sometimes patients or my students ask me, “What are the best stem cells?” what information are they looking for? I think they often are looking for the most powerful stem cells so perhaps they should be asking, “What are totipotent stem cells?” Other times it seems what patients specifically want to know is what might
What are totipotent stem cells & what can they do? Read More »
I’ve been closely following the arena of stem cells for COVID-19 since the pandemic broke including the efforts of Mesoblast. Mesoblast unlikely to meet primary endpoints in Phase III COVID trial Now, the firm got bad news as its DSMB reported that they are unlikely to meet the primary endpoint for their Phase III trial
Mesoblast stock hit on gloomy data on stem cells for COVID-19 Read More »
Approval of Prop 14 California last month to renew CIRM was one of the biggest state election developments of 2020. Yet it didn’t get much news coverage somehow. The exception is David Jensen over at California Stem Cell Report, who has been a great source of information about the various news surrounding Prop 14 and
Prop 14 California: Big Expectations for CIRM 3.0 Read More »
Our mission here on The Niche is primarily educational. We aim to make a transformative difference in educating readers across the globe about stem cells, regenerative medicine, and innovative biomedical science more generally including CRISPR gene editing. A major part of that mission involves fact-checking various medical claims about stem cells and other biologics like
Our Educational Mission on The Niche Stem Cell Site Read More »
Some key questions about stem cells often go unanswered like ‘where do stem cells come from?’ The goal of this post is for me as a stem cell biologist to answer your questions on stem cells. What’s in this article? The Niche | Adult stem cells | Where do stem cells come from? | What
Where do stem cells come from? Expert answers Read More »
This week we have some interesting new reading including both on the stem cell basic and translational fronts as well as on COVID-19 vaccines. COVID-19 vaccine considerations From Derek Lowe at In The Pipeline on COVID-19 vaccine expectations at Science Translational Medicine, Get Ready for False Side Effects. You can read my views on possible
Recommended stem cell reads: retractions, aging, COVID, CRISPR soldiers Read More »
How should we view biohackers and their DIY use of CRISPR outside of the traditional industry or academic lab environment? Introduction to “Biohackers” and DIY CRISPR Who are biohackers exactly? They are people who “hack” their own biology by transforming their bodies through the insertion of technology or modification of their DNA. More rarely, biohackers
Perspectives on Biohackers and DIY CRISPR Read More »