Yesterday I ran a cancer stem cells meeting here at UC Davis School of Medicine. We had some great speakers and over 150 participants including our outstanding keynote speaker, Dr. Jeremy Rich, Director of Stem Cell Research at the Cleveland Clinic. One of the ideas percolating through the meeting was that during cancer development, there […]
Cancer stem cells and iPS cells Read More »
Since Yamanaka’s discovery of iPS cells first in mouse and then in human cells 5 years ago, both made using viral transduction, a host of new methods to make iPS cells have been reported. These methods are quite diverse, ranging from transposons, to recombinant proteins, to plasmids, and to RNA. Often times these new approaches
Why miRNA iPS cells might be the ticket: an A+ paper Read More »
CIRM announced two sets of awards today that both should make major impact including its first clinical trial via Geron and $38 million for 27 basic biology studies. First Clinical Trial. Today CIRM awarded $25 million to support Geron’s FDA-approved clinical trial for spinal cord injury. This is CIRM’s first award to a for-profit company
CIRM funds $25 million for Geron trial, $38 million for basic biology Read More »
What are iPS cells? We talk about iPS cells all the time. We are very excited about them. Heck, the web address for this blog is ipscell.com. But what are iPSCs, really? iPS cells definition A simple definition of iPSCs is the following: Embryonic stem cell-like cells that are made from non-stem cells in a
An insider’s guide: what are iPS cells? Read More »
The tragic 9.0 earthquake and tsunamis that hit Japan a few weeks ago are having lasting consequences not only for Japan, but also for the world via radiation. One area of particular concern is the radiation that has leaked and is continuing to leak from the damaged nuclear reactors. At this point, the radiation
A reality check on the radiation spreading across the globe Read More »
How are things looking for the stem cell field for Spring 2011? Issue One. Getting to the clinic. At this point, Geron and ACT have their FDA-approved clinical trials underway using derivatives of human embryonic stem cells. As expected no news has leaked out on how things are going and it may well be Fall
Update on the stem cell field: Spring 2011 Read More »
Each year brings more evidence that what causes many cancers is a case of biological betrayal on the part of stem cells via cancer stem cells. I have blogged before about the potential for stem cell-based regenerative medicine therapies to aid cancer patients. I have also written before about my own experiences as a cancer
Cancer Stem Cells: a new target Read More »
Yesterday I wrote about how difficult it is to tell different cell lines apart, including normal stem cells and cancer stem cells, especially since some accumulate accumulate oncogenic mutations that may make them seem more similar. A new paper is coming out that makes this case on a genomic level. Tomorrow’s Cell Stem Cell edition
Devil in the details: small oncogenic lesions in iPS cells & ESC Read More »
In this post I give my most interesting predictions about events in the stem cell field in 2011. Update: I’ve continuing doing predictions every year all the way through 2020 and intend to continue. See my 2012-2020 predictions here. Appeals court rules in favor of federally funded hESC research. This is more of a hope
Predictions for Stem Cells in 2011 Read More »
Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) announced that the FDA has approved their second human ES cell-based clinical trial, a combined Phase I/II, for the treatment of blindness. Advanced Cell Technology As a result, soon ACT will have two active, human ES cell-based clinical trials, both using the same human ES cell-based drug. The aim of the
FDA approves Advanced Cell Technology second stem cell trial for blindness Read More »