Great ideas and talented scientists are not enough as biomedical research needs funding and here in the U.S. that means having R01 grant success. The trends since 1995 are slowly heading the wrong way. The average age of getting your first R01 grant keeps getting older. There is also still a bit of a possible […]
Weekly reads: R01 grant trends, DPPA4, adult human neurogenesis debate Read More »
Stem cell clinic firms often come and go rather quickly, but a few like Regenexx have persisted. It’s even become a brand name. I’ve been writing here on The Niche for more than twelve years about stem cell clinics. Regenexx has been around that whole time. Along with its founder Dr. Chris Centeno. Patients have
Fact-checking Regenexx: reviews, data & cost Read More »
The news of the week relates to an interim clinical trial report from gene-editing firm Editas on its CRISPR trial for a form of vision loss. On to that in a minute. What have you been reading the past week? Below, I include our weekly list of recommended reads. However, first I wanted to give
The Niche weekend reads: Editas mess, The Niche updates, papers Read More »
For more than a year in my first job as a scientist I isolated cells from umbilical cord veins and then tossed the tissue away, never realizing there was more there that could be useful in the form of something called Wharton’s jelly. What’s in this article Umbilical cord histology & Wharton’s jelly | What
What is Wharton’s jelly & its possible clinical uses? Read More »
What can a gecko possibly teach us about skin cancer? Read on. It’s fun when a week’s worth of science reading covers so much territory including COVID-19, geckos that get cancer, a research misconduct sleuth, an FDA letter, and more. Baltimore weighs in on COVID lab origin idea Caltech has a very interesting interview with
Recommended reads: Bik, FDA letter, gecko cancer model, David Baltimore on COVID origin Read More »
Although in my years as a stem cell biologist I haven’t yet been in a leadership role at the International Society for Stem Cell Research or ISSCR, unproven stem cell clinics have claimed that I somehow speak for ISSCR. I am just a standard member of the group like thousands of other researchers. In fact,
Recommended reads: ISSCR guidelines pushback, TB outbreak from regen product, pubs Read More »
It seems like being somewhat skeptical would be an inherent part of being a biomedical scientist. But not always it seems. On the other hand, some of us take it to another level by science blogging out our skepticism about certain topics. Note that there’s something called the Skeptics Society that publishes a magazine Skeptic.
As Neuroskeptic blog ends, reflections on skeptical science blogging Read More »
In the stem cell world some corporate names end up being very similar with the latest example being several companies with the name “BioLife.” Get a BioLife…name I guess BioLife is a catchy term. You’ve got life and biology in there in one name. Let’s deconstruct what’s going on out there with this corporate name.
Perspectives on BioLife: one name, distinct companies Read More »
There are many ways to classify different stem cells. These differences include yours versus someone else’s cells. Another distinct in a clinical sense is what we call an autologous vs allogeneic stem cell transplant. This post is focused on the difference between allogeneic (someone else’s cells) and autologous (your own) stem cell injections. As a
Autologous vs allogeneic: all you need to know on therapy Read More »
Those of you following the arena of unproven stem cells might recognize the name Dr. Joseph Mercola. He’s a promoter of alternative medicine. Over the years his name has also popped related to the marketing of unproven stem cell offerings in various ways. Now the FDA has warned Joseph Mercola on what it says are unapproved
FDA warns Joseph Mercola on COVID-19 claims Read More »