The Capitol Times in Wisconsin ran a story just before the primary there on Bernie Sanders on Stem Cells, indicating that has held anti-stem cell research positions. It can sometimes be hard to figure out politicians’ positions on stem cells and what actions they might take. Update: See this poll on what people predicted the […]
Bernie Sanders Mixed Record on Stem Cells Read More »
I like Easter eggs, science and writing, and Easter is less than a week away. I also think that games and puzzles as well as contests where there are prizes are fun. In this spirit I’ve hidden a scientific Easter egg inside of my new book, GMO Sapiens. If you are the first to find it
Find Easter egg hidden in my new book GMO Sapiens & win $250 Read More »
One of the difficult things about the regulatory sphere that covers stem cells in the US is that many aspects are confusing or puzzling both to the public and so-called experts. We’ve been talking through some of the questions that come up in this area in posts and comments on this blog. What does a warning
To stem cell clinics: do your homework & take FDA “current thinking” seriously Read More »
Traditional clinical trials have four phases. Each phase plays an important, unique role in testing whether new drug products are safe and effective as well as how they compare to the standard of care. Today in the stem cell field across the globe, the Phase III is under fire including what some might call friendly
Important, endangered species in stem cell medicine: the phase III trial Read More »
What are stem cell exosomes? There’s been an explosion of interest in the biomedical world around a recently characterized cell-to-cell communication system that most cells use to talk to one another, including stem cells. In fact the first patient has been successfully treated in Germany with exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells for refractory graft
What are exosomes and can they be used for therapy? Read More »
Medical News Today (MNT) published an article yesterday on a stem cell clinic in Mexico that caused a lot of concern because to many of us it came off as unbalanced and even promotional of the clinic. You can read my post from yesterday on this situation. In response, MNT has now revised their piece and included this
Revised Medical News Today Stem Cell Article Improved But Still Unbalanced Read More »
A new article by Honor Whiteman in Medical News Today (MNT) on a Mexico stem cell clinic really takes the prize so far in 2016 amongst media pieces that engage in stem cell hype. Update; Many on Twitter are calling for retraction of this MNT article. The MNT article entitled “Stem cell therapy: is the US
Medical News Today article reads like an ad for Mexico stem cell clinic Read More »
A great new piece in The New Yorker by Dana Goodyear, The Stress Test, gives us a window into Charles Vacanti’s side of the STAP cell mess and includes recent quotes from him. It’s a long, fascinating look inside of STAP, the tangled and ultimately tragic scientific implosion that created and then brought down two Nature
Finally, Vacanti’s side of STAP cell implosion Read More »
New genetic modification technology such as CRISPR-Cas9 has opened the door to transformative biological research, but it has also set the table for some novel kinds of technological problems for which we aren’t at all prepared including one that I call the “gene spill”. The striking potential upsides to CRISPR paired with some of the
A new possible environmental disaster: the gene spill Read More »
With the approval today of the use of CRISPR in human embryos, the UK continues its recent trend toward a more permissive regulatory policy on human genetic modification. There are both risks and scientific benefits that come along with this trend. Last year the UK approved an experimental technology with the goal of preventing the
CRISPR embryo OK signals ongoing liberal UK trend on human modification Read More »