What should the stem cell field try to do about cowboy stem cell clinics? By this term I mean those that don’t follow the rules. They shoot stem cells into customers first and ask questions later. I’ve interacted with many patients over the years who are interested in stem cells. This interaction is growing much […]
Dilemmas When Patients Ponder Cowboy Stem Cell Clinics Read More »
Should we be using the term ‘genetically modified human’ in discussions of heritable use of CRISPR in people? During the still ongoing discussions of genetic modification in the human germline and potentially in actual human beings in the future, an interesting, but difficult question has emerged: What words or names would be most appropriate for
Is ‘genetically modified human’ a loaded name? Read More »
It seems like Fridays are always a good time for reflection. It’s not like the scientist’s week ends on Friday sad to say, but still at least we can pause momentarily TGIF style and reflect on the maelstrom that is our lives, while cracking open another diet Coke or pouring another cup of coffee. This
TGIF: Stem Cell Stream of Consciousness Including CRISPR Read More »
Discussion of concerns over heritable human genetic modification has spiked in 2015. This dialogue is a good thing, but is it in a sense too late? Are genetically modified (GM) people a foregone conclusion? Rumors are swirling that upwards of four papers reporting production of GM human embryos are in various stages of review at high-profile
Genetic Modification of Humans Now Inevitable? Read More »
Got your new mandatory NIH biosketch all done? I didn’t think so. Want some help? Read on. NIH has done research and come up with a new biosketch for all of us to use with our proposals. It’s not optional. Originally it was going to be required for January 2015 proposals, but now it must
10 tips on mandatory new NIH biosketch & example Read More »
Today I’m posting about pet peeves in the science lab. Who doesn’t have some of those? And, yeah, we are all probably guilty at one time or another of driving other people a bit nuts with our own idiosyncrasies that are their pet peeves. This post is another in my “Elephant in the Lab” series about difficult, but important
Ten lab pet peeves: elephant in the lab series Read More »
Some American stem cell clinics that operate without FDA approval can give the appearance of being in the mainstream of academic stem cell research. Sometimes they go a step further to hint at or even say that they have some kind of federal approval as we saw in the past with the Stem.md website. Why
I recently interviewed leading genomics scientist George Church on the ways that trends in genomics are changing our world. We also discussed the possibility of heritable human genetic modification. These days we more often call this “CRISPR babies.” His answers suggest that genomics and gene editing are poised to radically change our world. They could literally
George Church on Germline Human Genetic Modification Read More »
It’s been exciting to watch the recent developments in using stem cells as the basis for treatments for Type I Diabetes. One of the major players in this arena is the privately-held company, ViaCyte. In this post, I interview ViaCyte President and CEO, Paul Laikind. The topics include their VC-01 product, the Encaptra device, an update on
ViaCyte CEO Laikind Interview: Trial Update, Melton, & Future Read More »
What is the best Stem Cell Conference? Dr. Christopher Fasano, principal investigator at the Neural Stem Cell Institute and creator and host of THE Stem Cell Podcast founded a unique stem cell meeting in 2013. In this short interview I find out about The Next-Gen Stem Cell Conference (to be held this year on May
The Scoop on Next-Gen Stem Cell Conference Read More »