CIRM Chairman Jonathan Thomas discussing CIRM policies and progress with the San Diego Union TribuneLast week, several people from CIRM met with the San Diego Union Tribune editorial board. 2013 being what it is, one of the reporters who attended that meeting also recorded video, took photos and produced a photo/video journalism account of the … Continue reading CIRM discusses progress with the San Diego Union Tribune: video answers

Joshua Goulart, playing Little LeagueI thought of Joshua when this week’s rainstorm walloped the Bay Area. He must have been thrilled. He loves big storms, strong winds and anything associated with the force of nature. Maybe that’s because he is a force of nature. Joshua was born without a left ventricle, essentially half a heart, … Continue reading Born with half a heart but full of life and hope for the future

These embryonic stem cells were generated from embryos left over from people undergoing IVF. Image: Prue Talbot at the University of California, RiversideThe New Mexico Senate has passed a measure that would allow people to donate embryos left over after in vitro fertilization for use in stem cell research. Without this measure, people in New … Continue reading New Mexico says yes to donating excess IVF embryos for stem cell research

The top middle panel shows endogenous pluripotent somatic (ePS) cells, which can give rise to many tissue derivatives, including pancreas, bone, intestine, breast and cartilage cells. Graphic courtesy of Tlsty Lab, UCSFRon Leuty of the San Francisco Business Times wrote a long story this week about a breakthrough by one of CIRM’s grantees at UCSF, … Continue reading CIRM grantee at UCSF discovers new, flexible stem cell

So, let’s say one of our grantees generates a type of stem cell in the lab that could replace or repair cells that go awry in diseases of the brain. Good news, right? But how do you suppose scientists are going to get those cells where they are needed? Simply squirting a syringe-full of cells … Continue reading Flexible needle delivers stem cells where they are needed in the brain

Last year, CIRM grantee Tony Wyss-Coray of Stanford University and the Palo Alto Institute for Research and Education published a paper based on his CIRM Basic Biology Award called “Neural progenitor cells regulate microglia functions and activity.”Stay with me here. Despite the title it’s actually a really interesting paper. How, you ask? Well, UCSF graduate … Continue reading A little white board magic turns complicated science understandable

Cynthia Schaffer supports CIRM’s Business Development and Industry Engagement and Commercialization activities.  CIRM is excited about engaging with the For-Profit sector of cell-therapy companies during our upcoming Annual Grantee Meeting March 6-8th. In 2011, we had a pilot program in which a few vendors from For-Profit support/tool companies exhibited at the CIRM Grantee Meeting in … Continue reading Making connections: For-Profit Companies Exhibiting at the CIRM Grantee Meeting

Our colleagues at the Salk Institute for Biologic Studies in La Jolla recently held a press conference with Congressman Scott Peters to discuss the impact of the Sequestration on science and research. At that event, breast cancer advocate Bianca Kennedy spoke about the relationship between science funding and the development of new therapies.“We cannot afford … Continue reading Sequestration: "Not only are we going to lose dollars, we are going to lose more human lives."

Our colleagues at the Salk Institute for Biologic Studies in La Jolla recently held a press conference with Congressman Scott Peters to discuss the impact of the Sequestration on science and research. At that event, breast cancer advocate Bianca Kennedy spoke about the relationship between science funding and the development of new therapies.“We cannot afford … Continue reading Sequestration: “Not only are we going to lose dollars, we are going to lose more human lives.”

Planaria Image by Carolina Biological Supply Company OK, so this research wasn’t done in California and it involves stem cells in a lowly worm, but it’s a great example of how basic stem cell research in animals can address human disease. The work, which was published in the February 20 issue of Nature, shows that a … Continue reading Stem cell research in a lowly worm could disarm an infectious parasite