THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIOCAST ON SPOTIFY Broken bones People say that with age comes wisdom, kindness and confidence. What they usually don’t say is that it also comes with aches and pains and problems we didn’t have when we were younger. For example, as we get older our bones get thinner … Continue reading Them bones them bones them dry bones – and how to help repair them
Basic Research
Lung cancer, Sherlock Holmes and piano
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIOCAST ON SPOTIFY Image of lung cancer When we think of lung cancer we typically tend to think it’s the end result of years of smoking cigarettes. But, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 10 and 20 percent of cases of lung cancer (20,000 … Continue reading Lung cancer, Sherlock Holmes and piano
A personal reason to develop a better gene therapy
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIOCAST ON SPOTIFY Credit : Allison Dougherty, Broad Communications For Sharif Tabebordbar, finding a gene therapy for genetic muscle wasting diseases was personal. When he was a teenager, his father was diagnosed with a rare genetic muscle disease that eventually left him unable to walk. In an interview … Continue reading A personal reason to develop a better gene therapy
Tiny tools for the smallest of tasks, editing genes
YOU CAN LISTEN TO THIS BLOG AS AN AUDIOCAST ON SPOTIFY Developing new tools to edit genes Having the right tools to do a job is important. Try using a large screwdriver to tighten the screws on your glasses and you quickly appreciate that it’s not just the type of tool that’s important, it’s also … Continue reading Tiny tools for the smallest of tasks, editing genes
National Academy of Medicine honors CIRM Grantees
YOU CAN ALSO LISTEN TO THIS BLOG AS AN AUDIO PODCAST ON SPOTIFY As someone who is not always as diligent as he would like to be about sending birthday cards on time, I’m used to sending belated greetings to people. So, I have no shame in sending belated greetings to four CIRM grantees who … Continue reading National Academy of Medicine honors CIRM Grantees
Creating a better way to treat type 1 diabetes
LISTEN TO THIS BLOG AS AN AUDIOCAST ON SPOTIFY The cell encapsulation device (right) that is being developed by Encellin, a San Francisco–based biotechnology company. Photo courtesy of Encellin Type 1 diabetes (t1d) affects every aspect of a person’s life, from what they eat and when they eat, to when they exercise and how they feel … Continue reading Creating a better way to treat type 1 diabetes
Building a better brain (model) in the lab
Leica Picture of a brain organoid: courtesy National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH One of the biggest problems with trying to understand what is happening in a disease that affects the brain is that it’s really difficult to see what is going on inside someone’s head. People tend to object to you trying … Continue reading Building a better brain (model) in the lab
Paving the way for a treatment for dementia
What happens in a stroke When someone has a stroke, the blood flow to the brain is blocked. This kills some nerve cells and injures others. The damaged nerve cells are unable to communicate with other cells, which often results in people having impaired speech or movement. While ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes affect large blood … Continue reading Paving the way for a treatment for dementia
Learning life lessons in the lab
Rohan Upadhyay, CIRM SPARK student 2021 One of the most amazing parts of an amazing job is getting to know the students who take part in CIRM’s SPARK (Summer Program to Accelerate Regenerative Medicine Knowledge) program. It’s an internship giving high school students, that reflect the diversity of California, a chance to work in a … Continue reading Learning life lessons in the lab
Retooling a COVID drug to boost its effectiveness
Coronavirus particles, illustration. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out scientists scrambled to find existing medications that might help counter the life-threatening elements of the virus. One of the first medications that showed real promise was remdesivir. It’s an anti-viral drug that was originally developed to target novel, emerging viruses, viruses like COVID19. It was approved … Continue reading Retooling a COVID drug to boost its effectiveness
The Stem Cellar 