The report makes for chilling reading. Three women, all suffering from macular degeneration – the leading cause of vision loss in the US – went to a Florida clinic hoping that a stem cell therapy would save their eyesight. Instead, it caused all three to go blind. The study, in the latest issue of the … Continue reading Three people left blind by Florida clinic’s unproven stem cell therapy
Blood stem cells
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: building an embryo and reviving old blood stem cells
Building an embryo in the lab from stem cells The human body has been studied for centuries yet little is known about the first 14 days of human development when the fertilized embryo implants into the mother’s uterus and begins to divide and grow. Being able to precisely examine this critical time window may help … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: building an embryo and reviving old blood stem cells
Stem cells stories that caught our eye: switching cell ID to treat diabetes, AI predicts cell fate, stem cell ALS therapy for Canada
Treating diabetes by changing a cell’s identity. Stem cells are an ideal therapy strategy for treating type 1 diabetes. That’s because the disease is caused by the loss of a very specific cell type: the insulin-producing beta cell in the pancreas. So, several groups are developing treatments that aim to replace the lost cells by transplanting … Continue reading Stem cells stories that caught our eye: switching cell ID to treat diabetes, AI predicts cell fate, stem cell ALS therapy for Canada
Rare diseases are not so rare
It seems like a contradiction in terms to say that there are nearly 7,000 diseases, affecting 30 million people, that are considered rare in the US. But the definition of a rare disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 people and the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD) … Continue reading Rare diseases are not so rare
Stem Cell Stories That Caught our Eye: Making blood and muscle from stem cells and helping students realize their “pluripotential”
Stem cells offer new drug for blood diseases. A new treatment for blood disorders might be in the works thanks to a stem cell-based study out of Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s hospital. Their study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. The teams made induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from the skin … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories That Caught our Eye: Making blood and muscle from stem cells and helping students realize their “pluripotential”
Curing the Incurable through Definitive Medicine
“Curing the Incurable”. That was the theme for the first annual Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine (CDCM) Symposium held last week at Stanford University, in Palo Alto, California. The CDCM is a joint initiative amongst Stanford Healthcare, Stanford Children’s Health and the Stanford School of Medicine. Its mission is to foster an environment that … Continue reading Curing the Incurable through Definitive Medicine
Stories that caught our eye: stem cell transplants help put MS in remission; unlocking the cause of autism; and a day to discover what stem cells are all about
Stem cell transplants help put MS in remission: A combination of high dose immunosuppressive therapy and transplant of a person’s own blood stem cells seems to be a powerful tool in helping people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) go into sustained remission. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder where the body’s own immune system … Continue reading Stories that caught our eye: stem cell transplants help put MS in remission; unlocking the cause of autism; and a day to discover what stem cells are all about
Stories that caught our eye: $20.5 million in new CIRM discovery awards, sickle cell disease cell bank, iPSC insights
CIRM Board launches a new voyage of Discovery (Kevin McCormack). Basic or early stage research is the Rodney Dangerfield of science; it rarely gets the respect it deserves. Yesterday, the CIRM governing Board showed that it not only respects this research, but also values its role in laying the foundation for everything that follows. The … Continue reading Stories that caught our eye: $20.5 million in new CIRM discovery awards, sickle cell disease cell bank, iPSC insights
Stem Cell Profiles in Courage: Brenden Whittaker
It’s not often you meet someone who says one of their favorite things in the world is mowing the lawn. But then, there aren’t many people in the world like Brenden Whittaker. In fact, as of this writing, he may be unique. Brenden was born with severe chronic granulomatous disease (x-CGD), a rare genetic disorder … Continue reading Stem Cell Profiles in Courage: Brenden Whittaker
Avalanches of exciting new stem cell research at the Keystone Symposia near Lake Tahoe
From January 8th to 13th, nearly 300 scientists and trainees from around the world ascended the mountains near Lake Tahoe to attend the joint Keystone Symposia on Neurogenesis and Stem Cells at the Resort at Squaw Creek. With record-high snowfall in the area (almost five feet!), attendees had to stay inside to stay warm and dry, … Continue reading Avalanches of exciting new stem cell research at the Keystone Symposia near Lake Tahoe
The Stem Cellar 