When we announced that one of the researchers we fund - Dr. Henry Klassen at the University of California, Irvine - has begun his clinical trial to treat the vision-destroying disease retinitis pigmentosa, we celebrated the excitement felt by the researchers and the hope from people with the disease. But we missed out one group. … Continue reading Cell mate: the man who makes stem cells for clinical trials
Biotechnology
Throwback Thursday: Progress to a Cure for ALS
Welcome to our new “Throwback Thursday” (TBT) series. CIRM’s Stem Cellar blog has a rich archive of stem cell content that is too valuable to let dust bunnies take over. So we decided to brush off some of our older, juicy stories and see what advancements in stem cell research science have been made since! … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: Progress to a Cure for ALS
Cranking up stem cell production for when therapies are approved for widespread use
Getting a cell therapy from the research bench to patients requires leaping many hurdles. Perhaps two of the highest arise when proving the potential therapy is safe enough to begin clinical trials and then when scaling up production to meet the demand of thousands of patients. An even dozen CIRM-funded projects have made it over … Continue reading Cranking up stem cell production for when therapies are approved for widespread use
New tech tool speeds up stem cell research
It’s hard to do a good job if you don’t have the right tools. Now researchers have access to a great new tool that could really help them accelerate their work, a tool its developers say “will revolutionize the way cell biologists develop” stem cell models to test in the lab. The device is called … Continue reading New tech tool speeds up stem cell research
I Sing the Bioelectric: Long-Distance Electrical Signals Guide Cell Growth and Repair
Genes turn on, and genes turn off. Again and again, the genes that together comprise the human genome receive electrical signals that can direct when they should be active—and when they should be dormant. This intricate pattern of signals is a part of what guides an embryonic stem cell to grow and mature into any … Continue reading I Sing the Bioelectric: Long-Distance Electrical Signals Guide Cell Growth and Repair
Stay on Target: Scientists Create Chemical ‘Homing Devices’ that Guide Stem Cells to Final Destination
When injecting stem cells into a patient, how do the cells know where to go? How do they know to travel to a specific damage site, without getting distracted along the way? Scientists are now discovering that, in some cases they do but in many cases, they don’t. So engineers have found a way to … Continue reading Stay on Target: Scientists Create Chemical ‘Homing Devices’ that Guide Stem Cells to Final Destination
‘STARS’ Help Scientists Control Genetic On/Off Switch
All life on Earth relies, ultimately, on the delicate coordination of switches. During development, these switches turn genes on—or keep them off—at precise intervals, controlling the complex processes that guide the growth of the embryo, cell by cell, as it matures from a collection of stem cells into a living, breathing organism. If you control … Continue reading ‘STARS’ Help Scientists Control Genetic On/Off Switch
Stem Cell Stories that Caught Your Eye: The Most Popular Stem Cellar Stories of 2014
2014 marked an extraordinary year for regenerative medicine and for CIRM. We welcomed a new president, several of our research programs have moved into clinical trials—and our goal of accelerating treatments for patients in need is within our grasp. As we look back we’d like to revisit The Stem Cellar’s ten most popular stories of … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught Your Eye: The Most Popular Stem Cellar Stories of 2014
Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: Stem Cell Summit Roundup, Spinal Cords in a Dish and Stem Cell Tourism in the NFL
Here are some stem cell stories that caught our eye this past week. Some are groundbreaking science, others are of personal interest to us, and still others are just fun. Success at the World Stem Cell Summit. This week some of the biggest names in regenerative medicine descended upon San Antonio, Texas for the annual … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: Stem Cell Summit Roundup, Spinal Cords in a Dish and Stem Cell Tourism in the NFL
At World Stem Cell Summit improvements in the precision with which we can edit our genes grabs spotlight
Just a day and a half into this year’s World Stem Cell Summit in San Antonio and there have been numerous highlights. But a pair of sessions on gene editing grabbed the attention of many of the scientists at the meeting. One of the renown leaders in the field, Harvard’s George Church wowed the scientists, … Continue reading At World Stem Cell Summit improvements in the precision with which we can edit our genes grabs spotlight
The Stem Cellar 