A group at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute led by Derrick Rossi has taken a big step toward a holy grail in stem cell science — reprogramming skin cells to resemble embryonic stem cells without viruses (Cell Stem Cell paper). The new technique uses transient RNA to reprogram the cells into what they are calling … Continue reading Better, faster stem cell reprogramming

Yesterday's decision by a U.S. Appeals court to allow human embryonic stem cell research to move forward pending a full appeal (see Reuters story) marks a good time to look back at how this legal back and forth impacts the field.In late August, after the initial injunction halting federal funding for human embryonic stem cell … Continue reading California stem cell scientists comment on the federal funding fracas

Miracle of Hope I, Dave PutnamThe promise of a cure for HIV/AIDS has inspired activists, researchers and now artists. The image shown here, by Woodside, CA artist Dave Putnam, was donated to Stanford’s Positive Care Clinic in Atherton, CA. It’s one of three 36” by 48” images making up a new triptych depicting Putnam’s interpretation … Continue reading Artist inspired by HIV/AIDS therapies

A nod to Paul Knoepfler at UC Davis, who has posted a blog entry about the Geron trial for spinal cord injury. It provides a nice summary of the science behind the trial, and a reminder of why patients might be hard to recruit. He refers to Michael Martinez, a jockey who recently sustained a … Continue reading Update on stem cell treatments for spinal cord injury

Researchers in Australia studying human embryonic stem cells have found evidence of the always-lethal Huntington’s disease when the cells are just a few days old. The disease, caused by a mutation in a single gene, normally starts causing symptoms when people are in mid-life. This research shows the value of being able to study how … Continue reading Human embryonic stem cells give clues to Huntington’s disease origins

The University of California has now entered the stem cell funding legal fracas, filing a motion to participate in the pending lawsuit. In a statement, the UC Office of the President said they are the first institution to seek to intervene in the lawsuit:The recent U.S. District Court preliminary injunction blocking federally funded human embryonic … Continue reading The University of California enters stem cell funding battle

Thanks to UC Davis stem cell scientist and CIRM grantee Paul Knoepfler for ferreting out the three judges who will preside over the September 27 D.C. Circuit Court hearing regarding the August 23 injunction on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research. In his blog entry, Knoepfler writes that of the three judges one … Continue reading The fate of embryonic stem cell research funding is in the hands of…

Joanna Wysocka/Stanford UniversityWhat does all the legal wrangling mean for stem cell scientists? Stanford published a profile of up-and-coming star Joanna Wysocka, who talks about her own NIH-funded research. Wysocka was awarded the Outstanding Young Investigator Award at the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research in June and has both a … Continue reading Legal wrangling slows Stanford researcher’s quest for a cure

For now, the NIH is again able to fund research projects using human embryonic stem cells. However, if there’s anything to be learned from the past few weeks, it’s that the funding is uncertain. The only way to ensure continuous support at the federal level would be legislation specifically legalizing research using those cells.Reps Diana … Continue reading Lawmakers look to legalize human embryonic stem cell research