I talked last year about human genetic modification by CRISPR with George Church a year ago. Now we’ve followed up with a long chat on this topic going into much more detail and with questions on recent developments. Each question is listed numerically and then there is a back and forth on that question with George […]
George Church chat: CRISPR people, Zika, weapons Read More »
One of the rewarding things about being a scientist is the opportunity to connect and even collaborate with other scientists around the world., but at the same time there is nationalism in science too. Some nations, perhaps most of them, and some scientists feel a sense of competition against others at least some of the time.
A role for nationalism in science? Read More »
Four or five years ago the top stem cell story was the battle over federal funding of human embryonic stem (ES) cell research in the U.S. by James Sherley and Theresa Deisher. They were the two opponents of ES cell research making the most national headlines. Nature did a whole piece back then on Deisher
Where are ES cell foes James Sherley & Theresa Deisher now? Read More »
The biggest debate today in the stem cell world is over how much regulation is needed for new, investigational stem cell therapies that are not as yet approved. Sometimes it feels very lonely being out there publicly advocating for appropriately thorough regulation of stem cell therapies and at times I get a lot of heat for
Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) Opposes REGROW Act, Risks to Patients Cited Read More »
There’s a questionable notion floating around out there in the numerous discussions over heritable human genetic modification and CRISPR. This idea goes that if germline human gene editing goes awry for any number of reasons, scientists could simply reverse it by applying genetics again. The reversal notion does not fit with the reality of science
You can’t retract a designer baby: CRISPR, social justice, & risks Read More »
What are stem cell exosomes? There’s been an explosion of interest in the biomedical world around a recently characterized cell-to-cell communication system that most cells use to talk to one another, including stem cells. In fact the first patient has been successfully treated in Germany with exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells for refractory graft
What are exosomes and can they be used for therapy? Read More »
Over the years some scientists including yours truly have expressed concerns about the possibility that mutations could crop up during the reprogramming process to make induced pluripotent stem cells (IPS cells or IPSC). How concerned should we be about IPS cell mutations? A cool new paper, Bhutani, et al, in Nature Communications from a team led by
For IPS cell mutations, some reassuring new data but validation still key Read More »
A great new piece in The New Yorker by Dana Goodyear, The Stress Test, gives us a window into Charles Vacanti’s side of the STAP cell mess and includes recent quotes from him. It’s a long, fascinating look inside of STAP, the tangled and ultimately tragic scientific implosion that created and then brought down two Nature
Finally, Vacanti’s side of STAP cell implosion Read More »
Haruko Obokata was reportedly questioned by police in Japan today. The questioning relates to the STAP cell scandal that led to the retraction of two Nature papers. As first author of the papers, Obokata and other authors had reported that they could make IPSC-like cells simply via acid or other stress treatment. However, it is
Obokata questioned by police over STAP cell fiasco Read More »
Clinical research on Type I Diabetes is one of the most exciting and promising areas of stem cells and regenerative medicine for human disease. Two of the coolest companies out there in this arena have been ViaCyte and BetaLogics (owned by J&J). For more on ViaCyte see my interview with President and CEO Paul Laikind
ViaCyte on the Rise: First Diabetes Trial Data & Acquires BetaLogics IP Read More »