Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) is making a big announcement today about stems, the biggest they say in their almost decade-long existence. Last night I speculated/predicted some possible announcements. Today I’m betting they will announce the discovery of a novel factor called Betatrophin. More on Betatrophin in a minute, but first why do I think […]
What is Betatrophin & why is Harvard so excited about it? Read More »
When are iPS cell-based therapies ready to be tested in actual people? It’s the million or perhaps even billion dollar question of today in the stem cell field. I realize that perhaps it is also a dangerous question, politically-speaking, for me to ask in a public forum, but patient lives as well as potentially the
Back-to-back papers (here and here) in Nature Biotechnology report the transdifferentiation (now often simply referred to as “direct reprogramming”) of plain old fibroblasts into brain cells called oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). OPCs are a remarkably useful kind of brain cell that generates myelin, which insulates nerves. OPCs are thought to have great therapeutic potential for
Was sind Stammzellen? Der menschliche Körper enthält Hunderte von verschiedenen Zellarten, die für unsere tägliche Gesundheit wichtig sind. Diese Zellen sind verantwortlich für das tägliche Funktionieren unseres Körpers, wie das Schlagen des Herzes, das Denken des Gehirns, das Säubern unseres Blut durch die Nieren, das Ersetzen unsere Hautzellen, und so weiter. Die wichtige und einzigartige
Was sind Stammzellen? Read More »
Today is part of 4 (the last) of my interview with Dr. Arnold Caplan, MSC godfather and guru. You can read parts 1-3 of the interview here, here, and here. In this post I focus on my discussion with Caplan on translation of stem cells to patients and the FDA. During our conversation we talked about some
Interview with Arnold Caplan, Part 4: the FDA and the Future Read More »
The Asahi Shimbun just published a fun, intriguing interview with Shinya Yamanaka, the Nobel Laureate who first produce iPS cells. In the interview, Yamanaka says that the celebrity aspect of his new post-Nobel life has driven him to wear disguises when out running in public because he gets recognized so often. Yamanaka is also asked
Great new Yamanaka interview on iPS cell safety, being a celebrity, & future plans Read More »
I recently interview Arnold Caplan, the father of the MSC field, and published part 1 of the interview (you can read it here). Today in part 2 we cover more topics of great importance related to MSCs including propagation, placebos, and patients as well as publishing. A hot topic in the stem cell world more
Interview with Arnold Caplan Part 2 Read More »
Allan Robins of Viacyte (pictured at left–sorry for the fuzzy image) and Paul Simmons of Mesoblast presented this morning at the CIRM Grantee Meeting. Both talks were outstanding. Robins went first. He started by saying how Viacyte had a productive pre-IND meeting with the FDA last year. I believe a target for them is to
Viacyte & Mesoblast present at CIRM Meeting Read More »
Over the last few weeks, I have enjoyed talking with and interviewing Dr. Allan Wu, of The Morrow Institute on stem cell cosmetic procedures. I was impressed greatly by his talk at the World Stem Cell Summit last year. Dr. Wu is a fellowship trained Surgical Molecular Biologist with a background in Molecular Embryology and a board
Interview with Regenerative Surgeon, Dr. Allan Wu Read More »
It is always exciting when a biomedical technology as revolutionary as iPS cells is on the cusp of being used in patients for the first time. In the last few days stories have reported about how a proposed clinical trial based on iPS cells has completed several regulatory steps and is closer to starting. This