I believe and have argued for years that Shinya Yamanaka, the discoverer of induced pluripotent stem cells (aka iPS cells) deserves the Nobel Prize. I’m very glad today that he received it. Some readers may find it a bit ironic that I believe so strongly in this way since over the years I have often […]
Why Yamanaka deserved the Nobel Prize for induced pluripotent stem cells Read More »
Stem cell revolutionaries Drs. Shinya Yamanaka and John Gurdon have won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Gurdon cloned for the first animal, a frog, and Yamanaka produced induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), a kind of stem cell with the power of pluripotency, but derived from ordinary non-stem cells. Gurdon’s work was based
Nobel Prize 2012 for stem cells to Yamanaka & Gurdon: why only 2? Read More »
One of the questions I get asked most often is whether induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are well on their way to replacing ES (embryonic stem) cells. My answer? No. Not yet. iPS cells are great, but the original notion pushed by some that iPS cells would somehow replace ES cells, which would be
Primary challenges facing iPS cells in late 2012 Read More »
As I was compiling a list of the upcoming stem cell meetings the other day I got to thinking about the different kinds of stem cell meetings and how diverse they are. Some didactic in a stodgy kind of way, while others are just as educational and instructive, but in a more enjoyable format. Some
Why you should go to the World Stem Cell Summit Read More »
I’m a fan of iPS cells, but my lab has been concerned about the similarities between induced pluripotency and cancer formation for many years. We just now published a paper that directly addressed the similarities of cancer and iPS cell transcriptomes. These are cause for concern and need to be faced as we contemplate clinical
iPS cells are similar to cancer cells paper, part 2: unsettled reviewers Read More »
Top stem cell meetings and conferences. If you want me to post your meeting, email me or post a comment (I’ll delete the comment and add the meeting to the main page). Meetings from 2012 can be found here. My listing of these meetings is not an endorsement of them, but is provided for informational
Stem Cell Meetings & Conferences 2013 Read More »
Did Celltex just get an FDA warning letter? I’m not sure. We may find out tomorrow as the FDA updates their public warning letter list early in the week. What’s Celltex? Celltex is that famous stem cell company in Sugarland, Texas that gave Guv Rick Perry stem cell transplants. It was inspected by the FDA
Did Celltex just get an FDA warning letter? Read More »
My lab just published a somewhat provocative paper (still in unproofed form at this point) arguing that iPS cells are very similar in some ways to cancer cells. How did we get to that conclusion (discussed in this post today, part 1 of the story) and what’s the back story on this paper (discussed in a later
iPS cells are similar to cancer cells: part 1 of discussion of new paper Read More »
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a relatively common, often debilitating illness, which has a major impact on the people of the world. In the U.S. alone, COPD costs the country almost $50 billion a year not to mention untold suffering. Most of us know someone who has COPD. COPD is an umbrella term that
Stem cells for COPD including emphysema: are we there yet? Read More »
There aren’t that many stem cell blogs out there on the Internet, although the number is growing, and the one that has been around quite a while is called “Repairstemcell” or “The Stem Cell Blog”. Granovsky is a self-proclaimed empowerer of patients and calls himself “the informer”, apparently meaning someone who will guide patients to
David Granovsky of ‘The Stem Cell Blog’ disrespects Christopher Reeve Read More »