The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, more widely known as CIRM, has accomplished big things over the course of its history of about a decade and sparked a great deal of innovation, but what does the future hold for our stem cell agency? CIRM has a new, respected President and CEO Maria Millan solving one […]
Update on CIRM future: will it include 2020 measure? Read More »
By Samantha Yammine When our TV stops working, it’s usually because one of the wires has come unplugged. We begrudgingly huff and puff over to the back of the TV, track down the loose culprit, plug it back in, and boom: back to Netflix. If you multiply all those wires in the back of your
I started The Niche blog in largely its current form early in 2010, and now 7+ years later we’ve hit two big milestones recently. First, about a month ago, we reached 10,000 comments made on the blog. Thanks for being involved in the discussion on the Niche blog! Second, we reached 7,000,000 total page views
Two more big milestones for The Niche blog Read More »
In a nutshell, what does all of this week’s big FDA developments on stem cells and regenerative medicine mean for stem cell clinics? There’s much to be upbeat about so overall I’d say it’s good news, but I see three significant potential problems too. Dang. The good news is that the FDA seems determined to
Deconstructing FDA Mixed Bag Approach to Stem Cell Clinics Read More »
Grad school…would you do it all over again if you could jump in a time machine? It’s hard to imagine, but it was 24 years ago that I started at UCSD as a graduate student. Think how different the world was in 1993. Now almost a quarter century later, the world of science is very
Twenty years later: would this dataholic still go to grad school? Read More »
Human germline CRISPR raises major bioethical considerations, but what about technical issues? Setting aside the many ethical issue about the general idea of human modification itself, could this really work? Yes in theory it could, but there are some very tough technological challenges that could and likely would cause failures or unacceptable outcomes at many steps
7 tech hurdles to human germline CRISPR Read More »
How much does a stem cell treatment cost? $5,000 is a nice round number that is probably close to the mark on average, but the price varies a great deal and depends on many factors. Factors that influence perceived average price include what one actually sees as being under that umbrella term “stem cell treatment.” Does
Stem cell treatment cost: you often don’t get what you pay for Read More »
It’s germline, heritable human CRISPR time, right? Wrong. But the particularly enthusiastic supporters of heritable human CRISPR often cite hypothetical benefits in glowing terms, but either don’t mention risks or strongly downplay them. These fans also tend to leave alternative, proven and safe technologies such as preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) out of the discussion or
Countering that Pro-Heritable Human CRISPR WSJ Piece Read More »
When I think of the promise of stem cells for diabetes, the privately held California stem cell firm ViaCyte is the first biotech that comes to mind now. It has promising stem cell clinical trial work building. Today’s post is a new interview with the company’s CEO Paul Laikind. For past posts on ViaCyte see here, which
ViaCyte Interview on Diabetes Stem Cell Trials & Cool Role of Gore-Tex Tech Read More »
It’s stem cell day! Or more accurately, it is stem cell awareness day. It’s a good time to think about where our field stands and where we’ll be in 10 years. Below, I’ve outlined 10 for 10: 10 things to ponder about stem cells in a 10-year timeframe. Approved Therapies. How many new stem cell
10 for 10 on stem cell day: 10 issues for coming 10 years Read More »