The pursuit of “normalcy” has seriously led some scientists astray and there is no better example than the recent microbiome studies that have drawn great attention in the media. I found one aspect of their study design profoundly disturbing. First to my core question. Is there even such as thing as a normal person? As […]
I have an ongoing poll on people’s impressions of the big annual stem cell meeting, ISSCR 2012. I myself have been wishing I was in Japan for that meeting so I remain surprised at the trending of the poll toward the negative. By far the most common response has been a surprisingly ho-hum “so-so” evaluation
Wish list from 2012 attendees for ISSCR 2013: some crankiness Read More »
What scares scientists? What fears keep them up at night worrying? What makes them scream (if only in their heads)? As part of my elephant in the lab series tackling difficult but important topics for scientists, today I am talking fear! Earlier posts in this series included taboo topics about iPS cells, the dirty dozen
Fears of academic scientists: elephant in the lab series Read More »
What are the most important iPS cell papers so far? 1) Yamanaka’s first paper on mouse iPS cells. Revolutionary. Intriguing perspectives presented in day 1 of the iPS cell field. Interesting statements such as Myc is required. Also take a look at those other reprogramming factors that he tested…there’s a tremendous amount there, largely unexamined.
What are the best iPS cell papers so far? Read More »
Scientists have special ways of using words to insult each other and believe me it can be vicious even if almost uninterpretable to those not fluent in that language. These insults are sometimes brutal or fatal career-wise, but also sometimes ironic and telling of our scientific culture. They are often also not talked about because
The scientist’s guide to insulting other scientists: elephant in the lab series Read More »
Why is the Texas stem cell company Celltex so super duper private about itself? I’m not sure. It has been the subject of much discussion in the stem cell field in the past year. Unfortunately, much of the news has been negative, largely related to their former head of ethics, Glenn McGee, who also was
Wondering why Celltex is still so silent Read More »
How do you use Twitter as a scientist? If you know how to Tweet (posting things on Twitter), you have a new avenue for interacting with the world including colleagues, students, editors, etc. Twitter can be a very powerful tool for scientists. If you, as a scientist, don’t use it you are putting yourself at a
The scientist’s guide to Twitter Read More »
On Monday, I made a big stink about Texas GOP Governor Rick Perry visiting a lab (that of Jeanne Loring) at Scripps Research Institute here in California because the lab in question is a leading group doing human embryonic stem cell (HESC) and Perry is a strong opponent of such research. I thought the visit
Great letter on Guv Perry’s California visit video from the artist Read More »
Two articles in today’s New York Times got me thinking about how science can be pursued privately or publicly. I believe that getting that mix of public and private science right will directly determine the fate of humanity. In a pop-science NYT piece, James Gorman writes about how people may in the not so distant
Lessons from The Hunger Games about balancing science: public versus private Read More »
Regenerative Sciences, Inc. just announced in a press release (PR) that John C. Malone (pictured above in their PR), Ph.D. has “joined the Regenexx Team”. Malone has infused the restive stem cell company with millions in cash. Regenerative Sciences is the adult stem cell company run by Dr. Chris Centeno of the Centeno/Schultz Clinic that is locked in