Skeletal muscle courtesy of Wikimedia CommonsResearchers at Stanford University have made a start in understanding why muscles in younger people heal so quickly compared to muscles in older people. Understanding these differences could help scientists find ways of helping muscles in older people heal more quickly after injuries. In a study comparing muscle stem cells … Continue reading Young stem cells’ DNA has more genes switched to “on” position than geriatric ones

Nature has a scary story about the impact of sequester on research labs. This paragraph sums up the situation:The NIH for example, faces a US$1.5-billion budget cut over fiscal year (FY) 2012–13, which it says will result in the funding of some 700 fewer competitive research projects and the admission of 750 fewer new patients … Continue reading Funding cuts hurting research labs

We'd like to welcome our journalism fellow Rina Shaikh-Lesko, who will be helping us out this summer writing about progress in the stem cell field. This is her inaugural blog entry. We’re about to kick off our first ever Google Hangout on July 3 at noon. Google’s foray into online video conferencing makes interacting with … Continue reading CIRM’s first Google Hangout to focus on ALS

One of the many things we are proud of at the stem cell agency is our Bridges to Stem Cell Research program. It's focused on helping aspiring scientists - students at the undergraduate and masters level - who are considering a career in research, giving them hands on experience in research labs. The ultimate goal … Continue reading A Bridge to a new career; building the next generation of researchers

Neurons forming from embryonic stem cells | Courtesy of Guoping Fan at the University of California, Los AngelesScientific American ran a piece in their blog yesterday that's both a great read about the brain's support cells and also a good explanation for why therapies for diseases of the brain progress slowly.The piece is about support … Continue reading Brain’s mysterious support cells underly some diseases

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. Dr. Anthony Atala shows a kidney created using a 3D printer - Photo by Steve Jurveston  Progress in creating replacement organs. Malcolm Ritter from the Associated … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: replacement organs, gene therapy for HIV and NIH budget cuts

Here at the stem cell agency we consider California to be a global leader in stem cell research. But in this guest blog Michael Roberts at CASIS explains how his organization is literally out of this world when it comes to research                              … Continue reading Stem cells in space; doing research in microgravity

Hype is a very common ingredient in promoting any media product. The world of medical discovery is no stranger to hype either. So it’s quite understandable why a project that marries the two worlds together would fall victim to this as well.That was my first – and second – reaction when I read the news … Continue reading Stem cell documentary starts out with flawed premise

 The common fruit fly is proving uncommonly good at helping us understand the brainIn much of commerce, “the middleman” is a derisive phrase for someone often attributed with driving costs up. Having known a few of those folks, they defend their role saying they actually make the process of distributing goods more efficient. Now, a … Continue reading Give respect to the middleman, when it’s a cell in the brain

Bluebird Bio, one of the oldest companies in the struggling gene therapy field, is having an outstanding first day in the stock market today, and largely by marrying its gene therapy technology with stem cell science. The company’s financial milestone brings hope and excitement to both fields.The company went through its initial public offering (IPO) … Continue reading Bluebird Bio lives up to its name, gives hope to the field