Dr. Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz: Photo courtesy Caltech Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have many remarkable properties, not the least of which is their ability to turn into every other kind of cell in our body. But there are limits to what researchers can do with embryonic stem cells. One issue is that there aren’t always hESCs … Continue reading Building embryo-like cells in the lab
CalTech
Stem cell summer: high school students document internships via social media, Part 3
Today we share our third and final pair of social media awards from CIRM’s 2018 SPARK (Summer Program to Accelerate Regenerative medicine Knowledge) program, a 6-12 week summer internship program that provides hands-on stem cell research training to high school students throughout California. As part of their curriculum, the students were asked to write a … Continue reading Stem cell summer: high school students document internships via social media, Part 3
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
Young Minds Shine Bright at the CIRM SPARK Conference
Yesterday was one of the most exciting and inspiring days I’ve had at CIRM since I joined the agency one year ago. We hosted the CIRM SPARK conference which brought together fifty-five high school students from across California to present their stem cell research from their summer internships. The day was a celebration of their … Continue reading Young Minds Shine Bright at the CIRM SPARK Conference
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: turning on T cells; fixing our brains; progress and trends in stem cells; and one young man’s journey to recover from a devastating injury
A healthy T cell 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. Directing the creation of T cells. To paraphrase the GOP Presidential nominee, any sane person LOVES, LOVES LOVES their T cells, … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: turning on T cells; fixing our brains; progress and trends in stem cells; and one young man’s journey to recover from a devastating injury
California high schoolers SPARK interest in stem cell research through social media
I have a job for you today and it’s a fun one. Open your Instagram app on your phone. If you’re not an Instagrammer, don’t worry, you can access the website on your computer. Do you have it open? OK now type in the hashtag #CIRMSparkLab and click on it. What you’ll find is around … Continue reading California high schoolers SPARK interest in stem cell research through social media
T cell fate and future immunotherapies rely on a tag team of genetic switches
Imagine if scientists could build microscopic smart missiles that specifically seek out and destroy deadly, hard-to-treat cancer cells in a patient’s body? Well, you don’t have to imagine it actually. With techniques such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T therapy, a patient’s own T cells – immune system cells that fight off viruses and cancer … Continue reading T cell fate and future immunotherapies rely on a tag team of genetic switches
The Stem Cellar 