Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute posted an interesting item today on their blog Beaker about a talk given as part of the Southern California Stem Cell Consortium. At the invitation of Evan Snyder, Dr. Antonio Iavarone of Columbia University discussed his work with a protein named Id. According to their entry:He described how Id keeps stem … Continue reading Stem cells, Id, and cancer

Many people in the stem cell community and at CIRM have been concerned about the growing trend of stem cell tourism -- people going overseas to receive unproven "stem cell" therapies. The term Stem Cells is in quotes here because in general these clinics are less than open about what, exactly, the therapy entails. One … Continue reading Costa Rica strikes against false hope

More news from UC Irvine, this time relating to retinal diseases such as macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, and Stargardt’s disease. A group led by Hans Keirstead of the Reeve-Irvine Research Center and the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center created an 8-layer retina from human embryonic stem cells.In a press release, Keirstead said:“What’s … Continue reading Multilayer retinina created from embryonic stem cells

CIRM-funded Researchers at the University of California, Irvine published an interesting paper this week that helps explain one mystery — how do transplanted stem cells go to the right place? This is an important issue for diseases such as multiple sclerosis, where transplanted stem cells would have to navigate to the damaged nerves.In a press … Continue reading Mysteries of stem cell migration revealed

Paul Knoepfler, a CIRM grantee at UC Davis, has a recent blog entry in his Stem Cell Myths series. The myth he debunks this time: Stem cell therapies are all transplants. As he so rightly points out, embryonic, iPS or tissue-specific stem cells can also be studied in the lab as a way of developing … Continue reading Stem cell therapies: Not just transplants

At the 2010 Stem Cell Banking Workshop on May 26, CIRM president Alan Trounson discussed the potential value of a cell bank designed to support the needs of researchers and industry. Many of the participants believe there would be great scientific value in a bank that could provide a common approach to cell collection and … Continue reading Stem cell banking workshop explores ethical and policy issues

Humans and other non-human primates stand out from their fellow mammals in many ways, but notably by having one particularly oversized area of the brain. This area, the outer subventricular zone (OSVZ) feeds migrating neurons to the neocortex the seat of sensory perception, spatial reasoning, conscious thought and language. Scientists always assumed the OSVZ must … Continue reading Between Mice and Men, a New Type of Stem Cell

In the most recent face-off between iPS and embryonic stem cells, the ES cells came out ahead -- turns out iPS cells aren't the same as ES cells even when they carry the same mutation. That's according to work published in the May 7 issue of Cell Stem Cell.(The image shows colonies of embryonic and … Continue reading iPS cells and embryonic stem cells — similar but not the same

On Friday, May 14 UC Irvine held the grand opening of their newly constructed Sue &Bill Gross Hall. According to a story on the University's web site:The $80-million, 100,000-square-foot building was designed to facilitate contact between patients in the first-floor clinic and rehabilitation center and stem cell researchers in first-, second- and third-floor labs.(Image: Hans … Continue reading UC Irvine Opens the Sue & Bill Gross Hall