Search Results for: stem cells anti-aging

Perspectives as Charles Brenner challenges David Sinclair on longevity claims

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Charles Brenner, David Sinclair

Professor Charles Brenner of City of Hope does great research, but I also applaud his efforts against longevity hype. Recently, Brenner and James Timmons publicly questioned some of the work of Harvard Professor David Sinclair. It’s a notable case of academics intensely disagreeing in the public space. Background While it’s interesting, it’s also a somewhat […]

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Refreshing WSJ piece on longevity ‘guru’ David Sinclair

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David sinclair, anti-aging

I’ve written before about concerns related to longevity research hype from Harvard professor David Sinclair. The media often eats up statements about longevity from Sinclair and a few other scientists in that space. There is also endless coverage of the latest exploits of wealthy health influencer Bryan Johnson. For that reason it was refreshing to

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Stanford’s Mike Snyder and wellness coach Tony Robbins together yield some puzzling research

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Mike Snyder and Tony Robbins, Stanford Tony Robbins

What do you think of when I  mention Stanford professor Mike Snyder and self-help guru Tony Robbins together? I would not necessarily have imagined them forming a connection but science is full of surprises. I’ve admired Snyder’s work in genetics for a long time. I’m most familiar these days with Robbins for his interest in

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Recommended reads: private cord blood bank disappointments, Mammoth genomes, Huntington’s CRISPR, Parkinson’s cell therapy

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umbilical-cord-blood, umbilical cord blood stem cells

The private cord blood bank industry has promised families all kinds of great things over the years. A typical ad for such cord blood banks might say, “Your child may need cord blood in the future for a cure.” The industry also often uses the analogy of frozen cord blood as an insurance policy for

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Is Liz Parrish the world’s most genetically modified person? Why it might not be such a good thing

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Liz Parrish, BioViva

Some recent claims had me wondering whether Liz Parrish is the world’s most genetically modified person. She and her firm BioViva are making that claim. It’s an important question but maybe not for the reason many of us first might think. This is not really about one person. Instead, this is a weighty question because

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Weekly reads: heterochromatin, H3.3, Mesoblast bump

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N-myc, heterochromatin

My lab is focused in part on chromatin states in stem cells and cancer including heterochromatin. In fact, my lab’s website is chromatin.com. Heterochromatin is dense, often inactive chromatin. By H&E staining and electron microscopy, heterochromatin looks dark compared to the rest of the nucleus, largely composed of euchromatin. Toward the end of my postdoc

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Weekly reads: Xist & autoimmune disease in women, Crohn’s disease, dumb headline of the week

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Xist ,auto immune disease

Readers of The Niche have asked me many questions about stem cells for autoimmune disease but the puzzle of why women get these conditions more often than men hasn’t come up before here. For instance, why is MS so much more common in women than men? It’s remained somewhat of a mystery over the years.

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Weekly reads: MiMedX & Kimera Labs FDA warnings, NYT on Bryan Johnson, MUSE cell trial

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AXIOFILL, MiMedx

Placental biologics firm MiMedx and exosome company Kimera Labs both recently received FDA warning letters. The letter to MiMedx was related to its placental biologics products and procedures. The new warning to Kimera Labs was about its exosome products and an amniotic product. Let’s compare these letters starting with the one to MiMedX. MiMedx warning letter

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Fountain Life update: lawsuit by doc, high performance aging, Celularity trial plan

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Fountain Life

A New Rochelle doctor has filed suit against the healthcare clinic firm Fountain Life alleging fraud. Now seems like a good time for an update on the firm. Peter Diamandis along with Bob Hariri, life coach Tony Robbins, and surgeon William Kapp founded Fountain Life, an early detection-focused healthcare company. Are they also a longevity firm? To

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