A new paper from grantees at Stanford University School of Medicine reports an advance in directly converting one adult cell type to another. This paper, out of Marius Wernig’s lab, builds on his previous work converting mouse skin cells and then human skin cells into nerve cells.In recent years, a handful of researchers have managed … Continue reading CIRM grantees convert skin to nerve precursors

Each month CIRM President Alan Trounson gives his perspective on recently published papers he thinks will be valuable in moving the field of stem cell research forward. This month’s report, along with an archive of past reports, is available on the CIRM website.This month’s review has to start by noting a key milestone for the … Continue reading Guest blogger Alan Trounson — January’s stem cell research highlights

Sandra Dillon and her fiancé at the CIRM governing board meeting. Thanks to board member Leeza Gibbons for the photo.Todd Dubnicoff is CIRM’s videographer and video editor At 28, Sandra Dillon was the picture of healthy living. She ran every day, ate healthy, didn’t smoke and recycled. But she had been bothered by a bump … Continue reading Genomics and stem cell research give patient her life back

In Lawrence Goldstein’s lab at the new Sanford Consortium building in San Diego, a series of lab dishes hold cells that could unlock some of the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease. These cells are neurons made from the skin of people who have the disease. Goldstein and his team reprogrammed those skin cells into embryonic-like iPS … Continue reading Alzheimer’s disease in a dish provides hope, avenue to therapies

Yesterday, the company Advanced Cell Technology announced that two people in their clinical trials testing an embryonic stem cell-based therapy for forms of blindness is not only safe so far, but shows tentative early signs of restoring some vision in two patients. The work was published online January 23 in the journal The Lancet. Of … Continue reading Early results from two embryonic stem cell-based trials show promise

Last week CIRM and Scottish Development International, which promotes science research and economic development in Scotland, signed an agreement to collaborate on stem cell research.This agreement marks 12th international funding agency to sign a collaborative agreement with CIRM. The agency also has agreements with federal and state funding agencies and foundations within in the U.S.These … Continue reading CIRM and Scotland team up in stem cell research collaboration

Earlier this week the CIRM governing board approved $40 million to fund a stem cell genomics initiative (here’s our press release). Stay with me here—this is actually really cool stuff, and crucial if we’re going to be able to generate the kinds of stem cell-based therapies patients and their families are waiting for. Genomics is … Continue reading Genomics initiative creates California infrastructure for speeding stem cell research

In Washington D.C. this week, researchers and patient advocates are giving feedback on what will become the nation’s war on Alzheimer’s disease, which aims to prevent and treat the disease by 2025. The Department of Health and Human Services released a draft Framework for the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease on January 9. After … Continue reading National war on Alzheimer’s disease brings hope to patients and caregivers

I was scheduled to give a talk to the Northern California Ataxia Support Group Saturday, just 15 minutes before the Fortyniners were about to begin their first playoff game in years. A colleague picked me up at the local BART train station and we drove up to a mostly empty parking lot at the church … Continue reading Ataxia patients and family members learn about stem cell progress

Today brought the news of a second transplanted synthetic trachea seeded with a person’s own stem cells. As with the first such transplant, carried out last June, this one replaced the trachea in a person whose own windpipe had been damaged by cancer.The timing on this story is exciting for us at CIRM. We’re currently … Continue reading Second synthetic trachea transplant shows promise of tissue engineering, regenerative medicine