Todd Dubnicoff is CIRM’s videographer and video editorAt many CIRM governing board meeting, we set time aside to hear from researchers, clinicians, and patients about the hope of stem cell research in a particular disease area. We film each of these Spotlight on Disease seminars so that the scientists’ progress and the patients’ stories are … Continue reading CIRM Spotlight on Heart Failure: A stem cell trial shows promise for healing injured hearts

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In October the European Court of Justice issued a ruling that inventions created from human embryonic stem cells are not patentable. We wrote a few blogs at the time giving voice to different perspectives on what that ruling might mean. (Those blogs are here and here.)This month, CIRM President Alan Trounson weighed in on the … Continue reading Trounson predicts ripple effects from European court ruling on human embryonic stem cells

The board meeting last week was a day for following up on recommendations. In additional to the Opportunity Funds, which we blogged about earlier in the week, the board also approved a proposal for creating a stem cell bank. Stay with me here. This may not sound as exciting as funding new science or creating … Continue reading Banking iPS and embryonic stem cells for easier access, consistent quality

Geoff Lomax is CIRM's Senior Officer to the Standards Working Group  Is the ability to obtain embryonic stem cell lines hindering research, what factors influence access, and does availability vary by state? These questions have been the subject research and their answers are not entirely clear. A recent publication in Nature by Aaron Levine of … Continue reading Limited access to human embryonic stem cell lines? Survey says…

Today a CIRM-funded disease team working toward a therapy for type 1 diabetes received additional support and endorsement from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). The project, led by San Diego-based Viacyte, received almost $20 million in funding from CIRM in October 2009.The goal of the ViaCyte project is to mature embryonic stem cells into … Continue reading JDRF supports CIRM diabetes disease team led by ViaCyte

On December 8 of last year, CIRM received the insights and recommendations from a blue ribbon panel of external experts charged with evaluating the agency’s progress to date. (Here is a copy of that report, and CIRM’s press release.)Less than a year later, on October 26, 2011 the ICOC approved the first of a three-part … Continue reading Opportunity Fund addresses review panel’s recommendations

Jonathan Thomas is Chair of the CIRM governing boardYesterday our governing board met for the first time since Geron announced the decision to terminate their stem cell research program. I wanted to take that opportunity to address the board and let them know my strong commitment to CIRM’s stem cell research program. When Geron made … Continue reading Jonathan Thomas reflects on the state of stem cell research

Elongated green cells are sensory neurons – which sense smells and relay that information to the brain – that originated from olfactory stem cells in the nose. Cells labeled in red are immature cells in the process of differentiating into neurons and other mature cell types. (Photomicrograph by Russell Fletcher, UC Berkeley)A rose may smell … Continue reading Stem cell discovery could help people regain smell

The Canadian Stem Cell Network posted an interesting item on their blog today about the relationship between stem cells and our sleep/wake cycle (also called the circadian rhythm). David Kent, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge, writes about the work, which was published online in Nature November 9:The group of Salvador Aznar Benitah … Continue reading Mess with the body’s clock, mess with stem cells