Are you a risk-taker or do you do everything possible to avoid risks? Taking risks in science is necessary, but is there a wise way to take the risks you do? Science and medicine need a certain amount of risk and risk-takers to make transformative leaps forward. The risks in biomedical science can be conceptual […]
Some thoughts on taking risks in science & medicine Read More »
The news that CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in its current form may not work in a substantial fraction of people due to many of us having immunity to Cas9 came as a shock to many, but if you think about it, maybe it’s not so surprising. I don’t see it as the end of the world. A (preprint) from
Keep calm & CRISPR on: perspectives on report of human Cas9 immunity Read More »
The idea of using stem cells for scleroderma seems a bit more promising today. A new NIH-funded study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) gives some hope for the use of a combination of a specific type of myeloablation and a transplant of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). This approach yields improved long-term
Stem cells for scleroderma, new NEJM article reports promise Read More »
Every year I look into my stem cell crystal ball and make predictions for our field including regenerative medicine. Well, I don’t really look into a crystal ball, but I try to use a combination of what I’m hearing through the grapevine, stuff I’m reading, some info that is not yet in the public domain,
20 predictions for stem cells & regenerative medicine in 2018 Read More »
Congratulations to Professor Michele De Luca, the winner of The Niche’s Stem Cell Person of the Year Award for 2017! He won the Award from a strong panel of 10 finalists. The award includes a $2,000 USD prize. I chose him because of his exceptional track record in stem cell and regenerative medicine science combined
Stem Cell Person of the Year 2017 Award Winner: Michele De Luca Read More »
Each year I make a list of predictions for the year to come for the stem cell and regenerative medicine field. Then about a year later I grade myself on how I did as that year winds down. Here’s how I did in 2016. For 2017, late in 2016 I made 20 stem cell predictions. Let’s
Grading my twenty 2017 stem cell predictions Read More »
Some conditions like Huntington’s Disease are so bad and there are no treatments such that any bit of encouraging news can be cause for legitimate excitement, but at the same time things can go too far potentially, especially if there is news coverage not backed up by a published paper or some other definitive source
Hope & hype on unpublished Huntington’s Disease trial splashy news Read More »
When you think of Florida, what else crosses your mind first? Orange juice? Heat and humidity? Beaches? Disney? I don’t know if this says more about me or the state, but these days I think of stem cells. Florida and California are the two biggest hotbeds of the for-profit stem cell clinic world, each with
Sentinel Takes Investigational Deep Dive into Florida Stem Cell Clinic Soup Read More »
I can see many reasons to be jolly on the regenerative medicine front as we get deeper into the holiday season as there is quite a lot of stem cell good news even if there is also some not so good news. In today’s post the focus is on the good news of late. Semma
Stem cell good news for the holidays: biotechs, FDA, organoids Read More »
By Hamideh Emrani (@HamidehEmrani) This year, Dr. Harold Atkins was honored with the Till & McCulloch Award. He and Dr. Mark Freedman led a clinical trial that used stem cells to reset the immune system as a treatment strategy for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and a few other neurodegenerative diseases, such as stiff person syndrome. You can