Search Results for: rmat

NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya could oppose fetal tissue & some stem cell research

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jay bhattacharya

Jay Bhattacharya just got confirmed to lead the NIH yesterday. In that role, there are reasons to think he may discourage or even stop some important research and funding. As a stem cell biologist, I’ve been looking out for indications of possible restrictions on our field’s work during the new administration. Bhattacharya’s statements signal potential […]

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A close look at in vitro gametogenesis or IVG: making sperm & eggs from stem cells to have kids

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in vitro gametogenesis, IVG

There is growing interest in a possible new reproductive method based on something called in vitro gametogenesis or IVG. Today’s post explains IVG including its potential pros and cons. I also discuss why its possible combination with gene editing is so potentially fraught, which is a big potential con. Let’s start with an explanation of this

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RFK Jr. & claimed regenerative peptides like BPC-157

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Bpc-157, Body Protection Compound 157

The marketing of what are loosely referred to as “regenerative peptides” including BPC-157 makes many health claims. Yet I can’t see that any have been conclusively proven to work in people. Even so, RFK Jr. claimed that the FDA was suppressing useful peptides. He mentioned this along with supposed suppression of “stem cells”. So maybe

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Weekly reads: stem cell exhaustion, Lineage Cell trial, Iowa AG wins vs. clinics

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stem cells aging, stem cell exhaustion

It’s been an exhausting week for anyone who cares about the NIH and biomedical research, but in today’s weekly reads I want to talk about another kind of fatigue: stem cell exhaustion. Please subscribe to The Niche Before we get into that, I’d like to ask a favor: please subscribe to this site, The Niche.

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Initial reactions to RFK Jr. being HHS Secretary

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RFK Jr.

There were many reasons for the U.S. Senate not to confirm RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary. Reasons that transcended politics. Nonetheless, Senate Republicans confirmed him today for that post. Some of them had voiced serious concerns before including one physician Senator, Dr. Bill Cassidy, but they all voted for Kennedy anyway. All except Mitch McConnell,

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FDA letters to Chara Biologics & Evolutionary Biologics continue its unprecedented slew of warnings

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Dr. Joy Kong, Chara Biologics, Chara Health

What is Chara Biologics? Why did the FDA just warn them and another firm? FDA’s CBER keeps up fast pace of warnings Before we get into that, the FDA biologics branch, CBER, has more generally kept up an unprecedented pace of warning letters over the past 13 months. I wrote late last year how 2024

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NAE member Mary Pat Moyer on FDA Warning Letter to her firm INCELL Corporation

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A Texas firm called INCELL Corporation has received an FDA warning letter about an amniotic product it manufactures. The letter was addressed to the firm’s founder and leader Dr. Mary Pat Moyer. The letter is somewhat unusual as Dr. Moyer is the Chief Science Officer of INCELL, and is an academic scientist with over 250

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Weekly reads: Beth Shapiro & de-extinction, mice with two dads, stem cell patches

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Beth Shapiro, De-extinction

Biologist and ancient DNA expert Beth Shapiro is becoming more well known for doing de-extinction research. Yet Shapiro used to be a de-extinction skeptic. Ten years ago she wrote “How to Clone a Mammoth.” In the book she mentioned serious challenges related to de-extinction. Now she is the CSO for a firm trying to make

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Stem cell therapy side effects & risks at clinics

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stem cell therapy side effects, stem cell risks

What are possible side effects of stem cell therapy ? Patients often reach out to ask about such risks They usually refer to unproven stem cell clinics. Today’s post addresses the scope of stem cell therapy side effects and risks based on available hard data. It’s also important to discuss possible unknown risks. Stem cell

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Tech Bro Manifestos, AI, and the Future of Biology (& Stem Cells)

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Tech Bro Manifestos

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

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