In gene therapy, modified viruses are used to insert corrected genes into patients' cellsAnyone who has followed the long twisted road of developing gene therapy knows the story of the big oops that happened with the first large trial in Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCID). This fatal disease is sometimes called “bubble boy” disease referring … Continue reading ISSCR: Gene therapy shows power of going back to the bench after being at the bedside

Jeanne LoringOn Thursday the U.S. Supreme Court handed down what many are calling a landmark ruling, ruling unanimously that human genes cannot be patented. Experts are calling it a ruling that will change the course of scientific research and medical testing, and one of our stem cell agency grantees was a part of the story. Jeanne … Continue reading My genomics field trip

iPS cells reprogrammed from human skin. These cells are being used for "disease in a dish" studies to unlock the causes and eventually treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's and heart disease. (image: lab of Kathrin Plath, UCLA)With Nobel prize winning stem cell researcher Shinya Yamanaka heading the bill at the annual meeting of the … Continue reading ISSCR: America’s next top model – disease model that is

Jeanne Loring generates gene expression maps similar to this one to help stem cell scientists determine if their iPS cells are truly pluripotent, that is; they can form any cell type in the body (image: wikimedia commons, Miguel Andrade)I don’t think our grantee from the Scripps Institute, Jeanne Loring, would mind me referring to her … Continue reading ISSCR: Stem cell wonks, making boring but practical tools

With a flurry of six, count 'em six blogs posted in the past 24 hours, our bloggers Kevin McCormack and Don Gibbons who are embedded at the 11th annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) have been fast and furious with their laptop keyboards and smartphones. Now Don has taken it … Continue reading Video Blog: States like California free stem cell scientists from legal and funding uncertainties

 Tania, Paulina, Sofia, Andres and Andy Trevino (photo: Children's Hospital Boston)A conference like the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR)  is always going to be heavy with science and dense with technical language and complex power point slides. But the voices of those who are in need of the cures … Continue reading Voice of patients rings out loud at stem cell conference

Early stage progenitor cells from embryonic stem cells are allowed to mature into insulin producing cells (blue cells) lost in type 1 diabetes. The cells are inside a permeable protective pouch that would fit under the skin of diabetes. (image courtesy of Viacyte, Inc.) Some years ago, it became a political adage that it takes … Continue reading ISSCR: It takes a neighborhood to get a cell to grow up and behave well

Yamanaka presents Thomson with the McEwen Award for Innovation. See the two glowing figures on stage, that's them. Trust us.In 1997 after moving back to Japan from the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, Shinya Yamanaka says he was suffering from a rare medical condition called PAD or Post America Depression. He missed San Francisco. His … Continue reading ISSCR: Even Nobel prize winners sometimes feel like giving up.

Massachusetts Governor Deval PatrickThis afternoon Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick welcomed 4,000 or so stem cell scientists and others from the stem cell community to Boston. They're all in town for the 11th annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR). He told us,Thank you for the hope you give to people in … Continue reading ISSCR: Governor Patrick talks about the hope of stem cells

Physician collecting donated skin biopsy from patient for generating iPS cells The scientific sessions of the International Society for Stem Cell Research always start with a seminar organized by its Ethics and Public Policy Committee. This morning’s session focused on how the research community should collect and handle human tissue donated for research.This is particularly … Continue reading ISSCR: Never underestimate the value of a little donated tissue