I look at my son a lot and feel like he’s trapped inside his own brain. Circuits are going crazy. He can’t figure it out. Of course, I can’t figure it out. And I think he deserves to have a voice…He’s never said I love you. He’s never said “Mom” with any meaning…I feel like … Continue reading Video: Reversing autism in the lab with help from stem cells and the tooth fairy

One of the reasons cancer experts have been able to make big advances in recent years is because they can take a tumor and biopsy it and understand its makeup. With bipolar disorder – and indeed with any brain condition – we haven’t been able to do that because it’s considered bad form to biopsy … Continue reading Stem cells helping unlock some of the mysteries of bipolar disorder

What does a Koala bear have to do with finding more effective treatments for leukemia? Well, Dr. Catriona Jamieson says the connection is really quite simple and she explained it in our Google Hangout on Leukemia yesterday. It's quite a fun story.Dr. Jamieson is the Director of Stem Cell Research at the Moore Cancer Center … Continue reading Koala bears and cancer cells – how our Hangout had good news in the fight against leukemia

A CIRM-funded team at the University of California at Davis has developed an efficient method for coaxing early-stage stem cells known as pluripotent cells into becoming the specialized tissue that lines our bladders and protects them from the acid in urine. Because the bladder is one of our simpler organs it has been one of … Continue reading iPS type stem cells pushed to become replacement tissue for bladder repair, possibly after cancer

Progress in science can take time, and it can seem like a really long slog when so many people are looking to you for breakthroughs that could save their life or the life of someone they love. But progress is being made in stem cell research with a growing number of promising therapies moving out … Continue reading Progress you can see – how CIRM-funded projects are heading to clinical trials

Here are some stem cell stories that caught our eye this past week. Some are groundbreaking science, others are of personal interest to us, and still others are just fun. Stem cells from a drop of blood. One reason Shinya Yamanaka won the Nobel Prize in 2012 was his discovery of iPS type stem cells … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: iPS cells from drop of blood, leukemia and stem cell backer Jim Stowers

Put this day and time in your diary. Tuesday, March 25 from noon till 1pm PT. That’s when we’ll be holding our next Google Hangout and the topic this time is leukemia.We’ll be bringing together three great scientists to talk about their work and experience in finding cures or more effective therapies for leukemia, when … Continue reading Do you have questions about how stem cells could help people with leukemia? We have answers

Geoff Lomax is CIRM's Senior Officer for Medical & Ethical Standards Yesterday, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) sponsored a public webcast titled: Oversight of Stem Cell Treatments. The Webcast used the example of a recent US District Court of Appeals decision to frame a conversation about the appropriate regulation of stem cell … Continue reading Stem cell society webcast looks at what patients should expect from clinics offering cell therapies

Dr. Raja Kittappa, stem cell researcher and candidate for CongressOf the 541 members of Congress there are plenty of lawyers (173 in the House and Senate) lots of business people (130) and even a decent number of medical professionals (32) but there are only two scientists (one microbiologist and one physicist). That number might increase … Continue reading Is there a doctor in the House? How about a stem cell scientist?

ALS patient and world famous physicist Stephen Hawking talked with CIRM's ALS team at Cedars-Sinai last yearThe stem cell company Neuralstem had earlier reported promising data from part of the patients enrolled in their phase 1 clinical trial for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Now they have published data for … Continue reading Early clinical trial for ALS looks promising, points to ways to do even better