Journalist Melinda Beck has a new piece on fat stem cell clinics in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) today that includes one very brief quote from me that I believe effectively ends up being an unintentional misquote because of a lack of context. Here in this blog piece I want to provide that important missing […]
Providing key context for my quote in WSJ on fat stem cell clinics Read More »
A stem cell/regenerative clinic firm called the Lung Institute is facing a filing of a proposed class action suit. Update: Note that this firm also goes by the name the Lung Health Institute and now as of 2019-2020 it does not appear to offer stem cells anymore, perhaps focusing on PRP. You might also find
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Clinic Lung Institute Read More »
I just published a paper in Stem Cells Translational Medicine on my experience traveling to and attending a stem cell clinic patient recruitment seminar. It was an intense experience and one where I felt at risk. To some extent it is akin to going into the lion’s den. I didn’t know what reaction I would
The stem cell hard sell: my new paper in Stem Cells Translational Medicine Read More »
Does the new gene editing method NgAgo work or not? If not, what happened? The answers to both questions seem to depend on who you ask and what you read. As much as CRISPR has been the revolutionary in the genetic modification technology arena over past methods, could CRISPR itself in the next few years
Controversy over CRISPR challenger NgAgo irreproducibility reported Read More »
My colleague Leigh Turner and I today published a new paper in Cell Stem Cell documenting for the first time the American stem cell clinic arena in a comprehensive way, which we found as of February has a remarkable 570 clinic locations via 351 businesses. These numbers are way beyond the predictions of most researchers
New paper with Leigh Turner shows huge American stem cell clinic industry: 570 locations Read More »
For better or worse, I am in the unique position of being a stem cell scientist and also a former cancer patient. Looking on the bright side this gives me a unique perspective on things compared to many of my colleagues. I know there are thousands of people out there looking for more practical information
Patients guide to stem cell treatments for 2021 Read More »
ISSCR 2016’s first plenary session is focused on stem cells & cancer. I was really excited about this one even before the meeting as this topic is a major focus of my own lab. Here’s the lineup for this plenary with great expertise in stem cells & cancer from across the globe: President’s Address: Sean Morrison, Children’s
Austin Smith talk at ISSCR 2016: a ground state inhibitor pathway Read More »
Stem cell studies continue to make big news with a mixed bag of trends including for stem cell biotech, and some good stem cell news and others not so much. Mesoblast ($MESO) had its stock suspended for quite so time recently in anticipation of a big announcement. When that news came today it was discouraging in
Stem cell biotech bites: Mesoblast, BioTime, MS, FDA Warning, & More Read More »
The second session at our CRISPR meeting was really powerful. As with other posts from the UC Davis CRISPR meeting, since I was taking notes on the fly during this session, this post is a stream of bits from the different talks, often trying to capture the essence of key questions or ideas as the speakers
UC Davis CRISPR Meeting Panel: A View from the Trenches on Human Disease Read More »
Why can there be huge clinical trial fees for participants? I am often critical of for-profit stem cell clinics on this blog for numerous reasons. For instance, one thing that concerns me greatly about these clinics is that they charge patients to get experimental “treatments” that have not been proven to be safe or effective. But
Huge clinical trial fees allowed by FDA at times, details often secret Read More »