It seems like being somewhat skeptical would be an inherent part of being a biomedical scientist. But not always it seems. On the other hand, some of us take it to another level by science blogging out our skepticism about certain topics. Note that there’s something called the Skeptics Society that publishes a magazine Skeptic. […]
As Neuroskeptic blog ends, reflections on skeptical science blogging Read More »
There are many ways to classify different stem cells. These differences include yours versus someone else’s cells. Another distinct in a clinical sense is what we call an autologous vs allogeneic stem cell transplant. This post is focused on the difference between allogeneic (someone else’s cells) and autologous (your own) stem cell injections. As a
Autologous vs allogeneic: all you need to know on therapy Read More »
Organoids and especially brain organoids, which are made from pluripotent stem cells, are one of the most interesting developmental biology technologies of the last half a dozen or so years. Still some folks can’t help but get carried away when thinking about brain organoids it seems. A new Science paper from a team led by
Dissecting that Neanderthal brain organoids Science pub Read More »
How much does platelet rich plasma or PRP injection cost? We might start by first talking about how to define PRP. PRP is an extract from blood enriched for platelet growth factors. There are many ways of making PRP and products are very heterogeneous. Some preps may contain actual platelets or fragments of platelets. These
How much does platelet rich plasma or PRP injection cost? Is it a good option? Read More »
Today’s post announces the winner of the 2020 The Screamers Science Hype Award. Since this is the inaugural year for The Screamers, I’m just going to give out one main award: Overall Worst Science Hype. Science Hype Award to FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn Remarkably, the winner of the overall The Screamers Award for Science Hype
2020 The Screamers Science Hype Award goes to Stephen Hahn Read More »
When my wife and I were expecting our first daughter way back in the nineties, we received a paper pamphlet about cord blood banking. Back then, I was a graduate student at UC San Diego School of Medicine working toward my Ph.D. in Molecular Pathology and my wife was in medical school at the time
Fact-checking, pros and cons of cord blood banking Read More »
Is a head transplant actually going to be an option for extending life or changing what it means to be human? What about brain transplants? Let’s lump head and brain transplants together. Any possibility of this happening in coming decades? How close are we to that reality in 2023? In today’s post I give an update.
Head transplant surgery update & fact check Read More »
I’ve been asked many times over the years if stem cell injections at for-profit clinics can help brain function, but recently the more common query is whether brain supplements such as Prevagen actually work. I’m skeptical of both unproven stem cell injections and supplements that are supposed to somehow help the brain, but some of
Jellyfish on the brain: a critical look at Prevagen Read More »
More states have taken action against stem cell clinic-related firms in the past year than ever before and now we can add Georgia to the list. Georgia adds to growing list of state AGs suing stem cell clinics The George Attorney General Chris Carr filed suit against several related firms (going by various names over
Georgia AG sues clinics & owner Justin Paulk Read More »
Something called, “The International Commission on the Clinical Use of Human Germline Genome Editing” has issued a new report on heritable human genome editing (HHGE). The Commission was convened by the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.K.’s Royal Society. This post is my initial take on the summary of
New human genome editing (HHGE) academy report: solid, but key gaps Read More »