We kind of take for granted these days that embryonic stem cell research can proceed without any restrictions, at least at the federal level. However, in the early days of blogging here on The Niche the big debate and battle were over federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Things got very complicated and for …
Lessons from when embryonic stem cell research was illegal Read More »
Rudy Giuliani has been tweeting all kinds of wild things about the novel coronavirus and is apparently very excited about the idea of “stem cells” for COVID-19 patients. What could go wrong, right? Giuliani starts vaguely tweeting about “stem cells” I wrote a few days ago about how Giuliani had been plugging an upcoming podcast …
Deconstructing Rudy Giuliani ‘stem cells for COVID-19’ podcast & NK cell transplant idea Read More »
The novel coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, have swept the world with few proven treatment options. Vaccines are only recently being rolled out the last 2 or so months, which gives some real hope. While the novel coronavirus-caused illness is generally a mild disease in kids (many of whom don’t even show symptoms), …
Last year around this time I took my annual plunge to make 20 predictions for the coming year for the stem cell and regenerative medicine field. I even made a crystal ball graphic to highlight the complexity of the stem cell ecosystem into which these predictions were embedded (see image) for 2019. How’d I do? …
B+ on my report card on my 20 stem cell predictions for 2019 Read More »
We here in California have been fortunate to have our own stem cell and regenerative medicine agency called CIRM, standing for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. How much has CIRM helped the California economy and has it had broader economic impacts outside of California? How will that impact its future? CIRM has been around …
Stem cell cha-ching! CIRM has economic impact in billions, 56K+ jobs Read More »
Here we go again with people trying to ban funding of embryonic stem cell research. Really? Yes, including according to a new article from the Catholic News Agency. Who is trying to get this ban? Some Republicans in The U.S. Senate. I’ve wondered for years if the Trump Administration might take action against embryonic stem …
US Senate bill would ban embryonic stem cell research Read More »
As I broke the news yesterday, the high-profile fat stem cell clinic firm U.S. Stem Cell (USRM) just lost a groundbreaking court case. Here is the FDA’s official reaction today to the court ruling. Also, since the ruling major media have been covering the court ruling. Here are some examples: From the Washington Post from …
Fallout of big court loss for stem cell clinic whose leader tweeted conspiracy claim Read More »
The four words “California stem cell research” go nicely together and I hope they will continue to resonate in a special way to people around the world in the coming decade. We are at a crossroads for stem cell research in California as the original form of the California Stem Cell Agency (CIRM) winds down. …
The future of California stem cell research & CIRM Read More »
Maybe the announcement that Commissioner Scott Gottlieb will be leaving the FDA soon shouldn’t have caught us all off-guard, but it did. Gottlieb isn’t a perfect Commissioner, but he brought a sensible, open approach to running the FDA that was very refreshing. Amongst all the top leadership in the Trump administration, Scott Gottlieb stood out …
Scott Gottlieb leaving FDA: possible reasons, impact on stem cell field, & more Read More »
For a long time at the end of each year, I’ve been making stem cell predictions for the coming year. Most often I’ve been making a “top 20” list of predictions and today’s post has my list for 2019. You can see how I did for 2018 here, which might have been my best year …
20 stem cell & regenerative medicine predictions for 2019 Read More »