THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Mary Ann Wittenberg (left) and Nadia Sethi Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS, is a nasty degenerative condition that destroys the brain cells controlling movement. People with ALS suffer a progressive loss of ability to walk, talk, eat and breathe. The average life expectancy for someone diagnosed … Continue reading How two women are fighting back against Lou Gehrig’s disease
Brain stem cells
Meet the man who is unlocking the secrets of autism and sending mini-brains into space
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Dr. Alysson Muotri, UC San Diego Normally if you meet someone who has a mini-fridge filled with brains, your first thought is to call the police. But when that someone is Dr. Alysson Muotri, a professor at U.C. San Diego, your second thought is “do tell … Continue reading Meet the man who is unlocking the secrets of autism and sending mini-brains into space
One more good reason to exercise
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST As we start the New Year with a fervent hope that it’s better than the last two, many people are making a resolution to get more exercise. A new study suggests that might not just benefit the body, it could also help the brain. At least … Continue reading One more good reason to exercise
Reprogramming brain cells to restore vision after a stroke
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST About one third of stroke survivors experience vision loss. It can be a devastating side effect as most patients will not fully recover their vision and there are currently no reliable treatments available. But thanks to a collaborative effort by two teams of researchers from Purdue … Continue reading Reprogramming brain cells to restore vision after a stroke
Raising awareness about mental health
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIOCAST ON SPOTIFY World Mental Health Day is observed on 10 October every year. It's a time to try and raise awareness about mental health issues and the impact they have not just on the individual but their family, their community and all of us. The theme for … Continue reading Raising awareness about mental health
Heads or tails? Stem cells help guide the decision
Two cell embryo There are many unknown elements for what triggers the cells in an embryo to start dividing and multiplying and becoming every single cell in the body. Now researchers at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco have uncovered one of those elements, how embryos determine which cells become the head and which the … Continue reading Heads or tails? Stem cells help guide the decision
CIRM Builds Out World Class Team With 5 New hires
Kevin Marks, CIRM's new General Counsel. Photo courtesy Modern-Counsel.com Following the passage of Proposition 14 CIRM has hired five new employees to help increase the team’s ability to respond to new challenges and responsibilities. Prop 14, which was approved by voters in November 2020, gives CIRM $5.5 billion in new funding. Those funds mean CIRM … Continue reading CIRM Builds Out World Class Team With 5 New hires
A word from our Chair, several in fact
In 2005, the New Oxford American Dictionary named “podcast" its word of the year. At the time a podcast was something many had heard of but not that many actually tuned in to. My how times have changed. Now there are some two million podcasts to chose from, at least according to the New York … Continue reading A word from our Chair, several in fact
Partners in health
From left to right: Heather Dahlenburg, staff research associate; Jan Nolta, director of the Stem Cell Program; Jeannine Logan White, advanced cell therapy project manager; Sheng Yang, graduate student, Bridges Program, Humboldt State University, October 18, 2019. (AJ Cheline/UC Davis) At CIRM we are modest enough to know that we can't do everything by ourselves. … Continue reading Partners in health
Creating an on-off switch to test stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s Disease
Sometimes you read about a new study where the researchers did something that just leaves you gob smacked. That’s how I felt when I read a study in the journal Cell Stem Cell about a possible new approach to helping people with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). More on the gob smacking later. But first the reason … Continue reading Creating an on-off switch to test stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s Disease