Did you hear that? It’s the sound of more than 15,000 people taking a collective breath. That’s because we are now at the halfway point of the 2016 BIO International Convention, the world’s largest biotechnology gathering with over 900 speakers, 180 company presentations, 19 education tracks, 6 super sessions, and 35,000 partnering meetings. Now that’s … Continue reading IMAGINE Curing Disease and Saving Lives: BIO 2016 Part 1
Biotechnology
Get your BIO on: Sneak Peak of the June 2016 BIO Convention in SF
Summer is almost here and for scientists around the world, that means it’s time to flock to one of the world’s biggest biotech meetings, the BIO International Convention. This year, BIO is hosted in the lovely city of San Francisco. From June 6-9th, over 15,000 biotechnology and pharma leaders, as well as other professionals, academics, … Continue reading Get your BIO on: Sneak Peak of the June 2016 BIO Convention in SF
Helping stem cells sleep can boost their power to heal
Mighty mouse muscle cells We are often told that sleep is one of the most important elements of a healthy lifestyle, that it helps in the healing and repair of our heart and blood vessels – among other things. It turns out that sleep, or something very similar, is equally important for stem cells, helping … Continue reading Helping stem cells sleep can boost their power to heal
New study says stem cells derived from older people may have more problems than we thought.
Ever since 2006 when Japanese researcher Shinya Yamanaka showed that you could take an adult cell, such as those in your skin, and reprogram it to act like an embryonic stem cell, the scientific world has looked at these induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells as a potential game changer. They had the ability to convert … Continue reading New study says stem cells derived from older people may have more problems than we thought.
Timing is everything: could CRISPR gene editing push CIRM to change its rules on funding stem cell research?
Talk about timely. When we decided, several months ago, to hold a Standards Working Group (SWG) meeting to talk about the impact of CRISPR, a tool that is transforming the field of human gene editing, we had no idea that our meeting would fall smack in the midst of a flurry of news stories about … Continue reading Timing is everything: could CRISPR gene editing push CIRM to change its rules on funding stem cell research?
If you want to accelerate stem cell therapies then create an Accelerating Center
“You can’t teach fish to fly,” is one of the phrases that our CIRM President & CEO, Randy Mills, likes to throw out when asked why we needed to create new centers to help researchers move their most promising therapies out of the lab and into clinical trials. His point is that many researchers are … Continue reading If you want to accelerate stem cell therapies then create an Accelerating Center
New Stem Cell Treatment for ALS May Slow Disease Progression
Exciting news was published this week that will give patients suffering from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, something to cheer about. The journal JAMA Neurology reported that a new stem cell treatment was successful in slowing disease progression in a small group of ALS patients in a Phase 2 clinical trial. This is … Continue reading New Stem Cell Treatment for ALS May Slow Disease Progression
CRISPR cluster: How the media spotlight is focusing on gene editing tool
Getting in-depth stories about science in general, and regenerative medicine in particular, into the mainstream media is becoming increasingly hard these days. So when you get one major media outlet doing a really long, thoughtful piece about a potential game-changing gene-editing technology it’s good news. But when you get three major media outlets, all reporting … Continue reading CRISPR cluster: How the media spotlight is focusing on gene editing tool
CIRM-funded clinical trial for spinal cord injury reports promising results
Today, the Menlo Park-based biotech company Asterias Biotherapeutics reported positive results from the first three patients treated in its Phase 1/2a clinical study using stem cell therapy to treat patients with spinal cord injury. This trial is funded by a CIRM Strategic Partnerships Award grant of $14.3 million. Asterias has developed a stem cell therapy … Continue reading CIRM-funded clinical trial for spinal cord injury reports promising results
Bye Bye BORIS: Gene Silencing Gives Cancer Stem Cells the Boot
A popular theory behind why cancer tumors recur post treatment is the existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs). These cells have stem cell-like qualities and are stubbornly resistant to common cancer cell killing techniques such as radiation and chemotherapy. CSCs are resilient and can reproduce themselves after all other cancer cells die off, creating new … Continue reading Bye Bye BORIS: Gene Silencing Gives Cancer Stem Cells the Boot
The Stem Cellar 