I’ve asked Celltex a few questions about the lawsuits between it and RNL Bio/Biostar. I appreciate their willingness to engage on this. Note, I’m also hoping to obtain contact information for RNL Bio/Biostar to ask them some questions too. Below are my questions and the Celltex answers, hopefully part 1 of 2 parts with the 2nd […]
Q & A with Celltex on lawsuits between it and RNL Bio/Biostar: part 1 Read More »
There’s a new paper out this week in Cell from the Zaret lab that is very exciting. In this manuscript, Facilitators and Impediments of the Pluripotency Reprogramming Factors’ Initial Engagement with the Genome, Zaret’s team explores how Myc and Oct4, Sox2, and Klf4 (OSK) behave at the genomic level during cellular reprogramming. What are the most
Review of the new Zaret Cell paper on Myc & OSK in cellular reprogramming Read More »
The field of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) has really shaken up science over the last half dozen years reversing our notion that differentiated cells are stuck in that fate, when in reality they are plastic and can “turn back the clock” to become embryonic stem cell-like cells. Now we have an iPSC paper in Nature,
Surprising human mosaicism means not all your cells have the same DNA Read More »
Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. is a publicly traded (NASDAQ) biotech Israeli company that is developing stem cell treatments based on the use of expanded placental stem cells called PLX cells. The Pluristem PLX drug is not approved for treating patients at this time in any country, however Pluristem has treated a handful of patients via something
Money and stem cell ‘miracles’: Pluristem questioned on ethics Read More »
Why are most brain cancers so difficult to treat leaving the unfortunate patients who suffer from them in dire circumstances so often? The short answer is that we don’t know why. This lack of understanding is like a wall standing between the cures and us for these patients. We have to climb or knockdown this
Brain cancer: why histones including H3.3 are so important Read More »
I was fortunate enough to do my postdoctoral studies at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (aka “The Hutch”) in Seattle. I was a postdoc for more years than I’d like to admit, but it was a wonderful experience. The Hutch is the kind of place where you can imagine making the impossible become possible
A tribute to Nobel Laureate E. Donnall Thomas, a true stem cell pioneer Read More »
I love collaborative science. I believe it advances science faster. An example? My lab recently collaborated with another lab here at UC Davis of Dr. Oliver Fiehn, a metabolomics guru. Our paper on this just came out in PLOS ONE here. Admittedly, we got scooped by another lab that published the first ever metabolomics paper
New paper on iPS cell metabolomics: striking, yet incomplete metabolic reprogramming Read More »
I emailed Dr. Raymond Chung about the patent application that was filed with him and Hisashi Moriguchi as inventors and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) as the assignee (owner). I have already heard from Harvard about the patent, but I also heard today from MGH Public Affairs Officer Sue McGreevey in response to my inquiry to
Massachusetts General Hospital official statement on Moriguchi patent app Read More »
A team from the Salk Institute in La Jolla led by Inder Verma has reported dedifferentiation in a paper in Science some important findings that I believe make their paper in the top 10 as a candidate for paper of the year. The paper, entitled “Dedifferentiation of Neurons and Astrocytes by Oncogenes Can Induce Gliomas
Dedifferentiation of neurons & astrocytes into glioma forming cells Read More »
The FDA warning letter that Celltex received in late September (but that just went public yesterday–see my initial reaction here) is a possible game-changer for that company in my opinion. Why? The letter outlined in great detail the FDA’s concerns with how Celltex manufactures its stem cell product ranging from lack of documentation to concerns about aseptic/sterile
Will stem cell clinic Celltex reinvent itself after game-changing FDA warning letter? Read More »