It’s been a big couple weeks of headlines in the news for prostate cancer. Let me help you make sense of it all. I’m a prostate cancer survivor and cancer biologist. Prostate cancer is almost an inevitable fate for men in America and for many around the world, but a significant fraction of the cancers […]
Making sense of all the big prostate cancer headlines of the last few weeks Read More »
Why don’t professors blog and do social media? Why am I the only professor with a stem cell blog across the globe (if there are other please let me know)? Why do I do this blog? I’ve written before about why I blog and listed the numerous blogs about stem cells out there that I
Academia’s love-hate relationship with social media Read More »
I am currently researching an article on the “discovery” of stem cells and the earliest stem cell research. Stay tuned for that. As I’ve been educating myself on the early history of stem cells I became familiar with a scientist that I had not previously heard of during my career who played a key role
Dr. Florence Sabin, Great American Scientist and Trailblazer for Women in Science Read More »
Cancer invokes powerful feelings so it is not surprising that there are a lot of harmful myths and urban legends out there about it. As a cancer researcher and cancer survivor, I can see it from both the biomedical research side and the patient side. Here’s my top 10 list of myths & legends about
Harmful cancer myths & urban legends Read More »
There is a bill being considered here in the U.S. called the “Research Works Act”. This is without a doubt one of the dumbest bills I have ever heard of in my life. The bill is bad for science and bad for America. If passed it would be an epic fail for America. Why? This
The Research Works Act Would Be An Epic Fail Read More »
I’ve now been blogging about stem cells here on The Niche for nearly 2 years, but why do I keep doing it? I’m by no means the only one who blogs about stem cells, but it is just that professors still are reluctant in the stem cell field to blog. Two outstanding blogs that tied
Why I am still blogging here on The Niche Read More »
They say politics makes strange bedfellows….remember the Witherspoon Council? These are the fellows who are the BFFs of the two scientists suing to stop federal funding of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research. They also wrote a large, very stodgy tome about stem cell research, in which they mentioned me and this blog…kinda implying we
Witherspoon Council, Komen, and Fox News Read More »
What’s the Witherspoon Institute? Most of you know about the 2 scientists who for their own reasons want to kill embryonic stem cell (ESC) research and with it the hopes for millions of people. Relatively new on most of our radar screens, however, is an extremist right-wing “think tank” called The Witherspoon Institute, which I
Secrets of the Witherspoon Gang Read More »
What does it take to succeed in research including for science newbies? Here are some key ingredients in my opinion after 22 years in academic science. Passion. One important ingredient that we cannot necessarily change significantly about ourselves, but that I think nonetheless is crucial for success, is a true excitement for science. Sometimes people
While my gel was running: advice for success for science newbies Read More »
Are street smarts important in science? Some of the smartest people I have ever met in my life were scientists. But some of these same people made the dumbest mistakes I have ever seen in my life. Why? Their raw brainpower and knowledge of science is amazing, but they seemed to lack common sense and
Science street smarts: how to succeed in science in the real world Read More »