It’s no secret that smoking kills. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) smoking is responsible for around 480,000 deaths a year in the US, including more than 41,000 due to second hand smoke. Now a new study says that damage can begin in utero long before the child is born. Previous … Continue reading Stem cell study shows how smoking attacks the developing liver in unborn babies
Basic Research
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: update on Capricor’s heart attack trial; lithium on the brain; and how stem cells do math
Today our partners Capricor Therapeutics announced that its stem cell therapy for patients who have experienced a large heart attack is unlikely to meet one of its key goals, namely reducing the scar size in the heart 12 months after treatment. The news came after analyzing results from patients at the halfway point of the … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: update on Capricor’s heart attack trial; lithium on the brain; and how stem cells do math
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: better ovarian cancer drugs, creating inner ear tissue, small fish big splash
Two drugs are better than one for ovarian cancer (Karen Ring). Earlier this week, scientists from UCLA reported that a combination drug therapy could be an effective treatment for 50% of aggressive ovarian cancers. The study was published in the journal Precision Oncology and was led by Dr. Sanaz Memarzadeh. Women with high-grade ovarian tumors … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: better ovarian cancer drugs, creating inner ear tissue, small fish big splash
Stem Cell Stories That Caught Our Eye: Free Patient Advocate Event in San Diego, and new clues on how to fix muscular dystrophy and Huntington’s disease
Stem cell research is advancing so fast that it’s sometimes hard to keep up. That’s one of the reasons we have our Friday roundup, to let you know about some fascinating research that came across our desk during the week that you might otherwise have missed. Of course, another way to keep up with the … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories That Caught Our Eye: Free Patient Advocate Event in San Diego, and new clues on how to fix muscular dystrophy and Huntington’s disease
Could the Answer to Treating Parkinson’s Disease Come From Within the Brain?
Sometimes a solution to a disease doesn’t come in the form of a drug or a stem cell therapy, but from within ourselves. Yesterday, scientists from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden reported an alternative strategy for treating Parkinson’s disease that involves reprogramming specific cells in the brain into the nerve cells killed off by the … Continue reading Could the Answer to Treating Parkinson’s Disease Come From Within the Brain?
How Parkinson’s disease became personal for one stem cell researcher
April is Parkinson's disease Awareness Month. This year the date is particularly significant because 2017 is the 200th anniversary of the publication of British apothecary James Parkinson's "An Essay on the Shaking Palsy", which is now recognized as a seminal work in describing the disease. To mark the occasion we talked with Dr. Birgitt Schuele, … Continue reading How Parkinson’s disease became personal for one stem cell researcher
CIRM-funded team uncovers novel function for protein linked to autism and schizophrenia
Imagine you’ve just stopped your car at the top of the steepest street in San Francisco. Now, if want to stay at the top of the hill you’re going to need to keep your foot on the brakes. Let go and you’ll start rolling down. Fast. Conceptually, similar decision points happen in human development. A … Continue reading CIRM-funded team uncovers novel function for protein linked to autism and schizophrenia
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
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
Rhythmic brain circuits built from stem cells
The TV commercial is nearly 20 years old but I remember it vividly: a couple is driving down a street when they suddenly realize the music on their tape deck is in sync with the repetitive activity on the street. From the guy casually dribbling a basketball to people walking along the sidewalk to the … Continue reading Rhythmic brain circuits built from stem cells
The Stem Cellar 