Nevada has a relatively new 2023 law legalizing non-FDA-approved biological and gene therapies. I use the word “therapies” here loosely. They are not scientifically or medically proven to work or be safe so they could lead to substantial harm. This is yet another early step in a likely growing trend of states challenging FDA authority […]
What if we could make robots that possess human brain-like structures? Chinese scientists have reportedly made such robots that are each guided at least in part by a small amount of lab-grown brain tissue. These cyborg-like creations, which are being trained to perform specific tasks, also have standard computer chips. How much does the human
On the road to Cylons? Robots with human brain tissue reported Read More »
Combinations of human flesh and robots are more in the news lately. Sometimes the fleshy parts are grown from stem cells in a lab. Robots with fleshy faces Scientists in Japan Give Robots a Fleshy Face and a Smile, NYT. I’m working on a piece about robots in China with small, human brain-like structures. Stay tuned
Recommended reads: flesh-faced robots, ALS, Spina Bifida,neuronal CRISPR Read More »
The proto-oncogene MYC is one of those factors studied in thousands of papers. MYC and its dimerize partner MAX are also seemingly involved in just about everything. They have crucial roles in many kinds of stem cells including adult and embryonic stem cells. One way or another MYC induction seems very helpful for cellular reprogramming
When I was first really getting into stem cells as a trainee the name Catherine Verfaillie came up as a scientist to watch in the adult stem cell area. It wasn’t too long after that though that I started hearing that some of the work from her lab at the University of Minnesota was being
Recommended reads: Nature Catherine Verfaillie retraction, Horvath paper, Vertex Read More »
I’ve only met one scientist who was openly a Trump fan, but I’m sure there are more out there. Still, it seems most scientists are no fans of the former president. A new WaPo piece highlights how federal scientists are worrying about a possible second term for the former president. Government scientists & a second
Recommended reads: gov scientists fear Trump 2nd term, MYCT1 in HSCs, in vivo editing Read More »
Do many in the regenerative medicine field have favorite types of stem cells? Some seem to think there’s a tension between those working on pluripotent stem cells like iPS cells and those working with MSCs. I don’t see it that way, though. Whatever stem cells work best for a particular condition should be used and,
Weekly reads: diabetes, GvHD, Novo Nordisk & regenerative medicine, HDACs Read More »
Can researchers use CAR-T for lupus? It’s always exciting when one’s home institution has an interesting new therapy in development. Here at UC Davis Health, there has been an increasing stream of such encouraging trials in the pipeline. I’ve written before about the promising trial of stem cells for spina bifida. Now there’s news related
Recommended reads: CAR-T for Lupus, CRISPR vision, journal closures Read More »
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
It takes a lot to surprise me these days in the cell therapy and regenerative medicine space, but some news from Walgreens stopped me in my tracks yesterday. The firm most well known for its drug stores and pharmacies has been struggling recently. Perhaps as a way to try to turn things around, they recently
New Walgreens shopping list: q-tips, aspirin, & cutting-edge gene & cell therapies Read More »