A few weeks ago CIRM grantee at UC Davis Paul Knoepfler wrote a blog entry distinguishing hype from hope in the stem cell research field. This is no small task. The hype in this field is incredible (as evidence, see all too many headlines on the topic). But then, so is the hope. CIRM was … Continue reading Hope vs. hype in stem cell research

The CIRM governing board meeting yesterday, held on the Stanford campus, included a number of important agenda items — planning awards worth $1.8 million and changes to the grants review process to name a few — and one seeming sleeper item titled "Presentation and discussion of CIRM Translational Grant Portfolio." Yawn, right? But that's the … Continue reading Progress toward stem cell clinical trials?

Guest blogger Alan Trounson is President of CIRMYesterday, my colleague Uta Grieshammer used this space to describe a Nature paper out of Irv Weissman’s Stanford lab that sought to pin down which cells are responsible for the regrowth of the tip of a mouse’s toe after amputation.Salamanders and many lower organisms have the ability to … Continue reading Guest blogger Alan Trounson: What A Mouse’s Toe Tells Us about CIRM’s Investment

Regenerated mouse digit tip/Yuval Rinkevich  Guest blogger Uta Grieshammer is a science officer at CIRMA form of regeneration that has captured the imagination of scientists and the general public for many decades occurs in certain salamanders, as they have the remarkable ability to regrow a severed leg. Leg regeneration is unusual not only because it … Continue reading Of salamanders, mice and men – digit regeneration mechanisms revealed

In March 2011 CIRM began working with AlphaMed press to develop a new peer-reviewed journal to publish research that is translating basic stem cell science into new therapies. The idea was simple. AlphaMed had been publishing the elite journal Stem Cells for 30 years and recognized that the time had come to form a new … Continue reading New journal focuses on developing stem cell therapies

The NIH has approved four new human embryonic stem cell lines for federally funded research. The lines, from CIRM-funded BioTime, have one thing going for them that many other lines don't. They were developed in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice requirements, which is a critical step for developing a transplantation therapy. The FDA will only … Continue reading GMP grade embryonic stem cell lines approved by NIH

Here's a happy stem cell story for the dog days of summer: A veterinarian in Pennsylvania used an experimental stem cell therapy to help a dog regrow severely burned foot pats. The dog, named Bernie, had been left on a scorching rooftop for 10 hours.According to the Reading Eagle:When the dog was brought to the … Continue reading Stem cell therapy gives dog a new leash on life

A trend over the past few years has been comparing embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells and reprogrammed adult cells (also known as iPS cells) to each other and to other cell types. The goal is to understand what the cells are, exactly, and and how they differ from each other. Eventually this information could … Continue reading Cells derived from embryonic stem cells, iPS cells appear immature

CIRM grantees at Stanford University have removed some of the risk of therapies based on human embryonic stem cells or reprogrammed adult cells, known as iPS cells. Both of these cells types are known as pluripotent, which means that the cells can go on to form all the mature cells of the human body. The … Continue reading Weeding out the tumor-forming cells from potential stem cell therapies

UC Davis interns Rex Reyes, Jaskaran Dhillon, Thomas Gepts and Kalani Ratnasiri Last week CIRM gathered together the Creativity Award interns to learn about their summer projects. These high school students came from UC Davis, UC San Francisco, UC Santa Barbara and Stanford to congregate at the Children's Hospital Oakland, home of CIRM board member … Continue reading High school students get stem cell experience in California labs