It's never too early to start learning. When it comes to teaching science to kids, here’s my advice: don’t shy away from talking about topics like mitochondria or nuclei. Children are curious and intelligent. They can understand complex scientific concepts if you engage them in the right way. So it’s time to set aside the … Continue reading Teach your kids about stem cells and science with Think-A-Lot-Tots children’s books
Year: 2017
Reducing animal testing with stem cells and electronic petri dishes
Though the celebrities at Sunday’s Academy Awards worked hard to sport unique clothing and hair styles, I bet many had something in common: Botox injections. Botox, an FDA-approved, marketed form of Botulism neurotoxin, is well known for its wrinkle reducing effects. The neurotoxin’s other claim to fame is the fact that it’s the most lethal, … Continue reading Reducing animal testing with stem cells and electronic petri dishes
Raising awareness about Rare Disease Day
One of the goals we set ourselves at CIRM in our 2016 Strategic Plan was to fund 50 new clinical trials over the next five years, including ten rare or orphan diseases. Since then we have funded 13 new clinical trials including four targeting rare diseases (retinitis pigmentosa, severe combined immunodeficiency, ALS or Lou Gehrig’s … Continue reading Raising awareness about Rare Disease Day
Here’s a Fun Lab Tour Video Contest for Scientists
Scientists are often stereotyped as serious, focused individuals who spend most of their time pursuing their science with little time for anything else. Their research often is complex and hard for non-scientists to wrap their minds around. I’ve often heard my friends describe to me what they thought I did every day when I was … Continue reading Here’s a Fun Lab Tour Video Contest for Scientists
Stem cells stories that caught our eye: switching cell ID to treat diabetes, AI predicts cell fate, stem cell ALS therapy for Canada
Treating diabetes by changing a cell’s identity. Stem cells are an ideal therapy strategy for treating type 1 diabetes. That’s because the disease is caused by the loss of a very specific cell type: the insulin-producing beta cell in the pancreas. So, several groups are developing treatments that aim to replace the lost cells by transplanting … Continue reading Stem cells stories that caught our eye: switching cell ID to treat diabetes, AI predicts cell fate, stem cell ALS therapy for Canada
Partnering with the best to help find cures for rare diseases
As a state agency we focus most of our efforts and nearly all our money on California. That’s what we were set up to do. But that doesn’t mean we don’t also look outside the borders of California to try and find the best research, and the most promising therapies, to help people in need. … Continue reading Partnering with the best to help find cures for rare diseases
Listen Up: A stem cell-based solution for hearing loss
Can you hear me now? If you’re old enough, you probably recognize this phrase from an early 2000’s Verizon Wireless commercial where the company claims to be “the nation’s largest, most reliable wireless network”. However, no matter how hard wireless companies like Verizon try, there are still dead zones where cell phone reception is zilch … Continue reading Listen Up: A stem cell-based solution for hearing loss
Rare diseases are not so rare
It seems like a contradiction in terms to say that there are nearly 7,000 diseases, affecting 30 million people, that are considered rare in the US. But the definition of a rare disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 people and the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD) … Continue reading Rare diseases are not so rare
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: drug safety for heart cells, worms hijack plant stem cells & battling esophageal cancer
Devising a drug safety measuring stick in stem cell-derived heart muscle cells One of the mantras in the drug development business is “fail early”. That’s because most of the costs of getting a therapy to market occur at the later stages when an experimental treatment is tested in clinical trials in people. So, it’s best … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: drug safety for heart cells, worms hijack plant stem cells & battling esophageal cancer
TV’s Dr. Oz takes on clinics offering dubious stem cell treatments
At first glance motor car racing legend A. J. Foyt and TV celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz would seem to have little in common. But this week they both made news for being at opposite ends of an all too familiar story: for-profit medical clinics offering unproven stem cell therapies. Foyt, who is now … Continue reading TV’s Dr. Oz takes on clinics offering dubious stem cell treatments
The Stem Cellar 