Two Midwest universities are making headlines for their contributions to stem cell research. Both are developing important tools to advance this field of study, but in two unique ways. Scientists at the University of Michigan (UM), have compiled an impressive repository of disease-specific stem cell lines. Cell lines are crucial tools for scientists to study … Continue reading Midwest universities are making important tools to advance stem cell research
Embryonic Stem Cells
Stem Cell Agency celebrates 50 clinical trials with patient #1
Yesterday the CIRM Board approved funding for our 50th clinical trial (you can read about that here) It was an historic moment for us and to celebrate we decided to go back in history and hear from the very first person to be treated in a CIRM-funded clinical trial. Rich Lajara was treated in the … Continue reading Stem Cell Agency celebrates 50 clinical trials with patient #1
Stem Cell Agency Board Approves 50th Clinical Trial
May 4th, 2011 marked a landmark moment for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). On that day the Stem Cell Agency’s Board voted to invest in its first ever clinical trial, which was also the first clinical trial to use cells derived from embryonic stem cells. Today the Stem Cell Agency reached another landmark, … Continue reading Stem Cell Agency Board Approves 50th Clinical Trial
How CIRM support helped a promising approach to type 1 diabetes get vital financial backing
The “Valley of Death” sounds like a scary place from “Lord of the Rings” or “Game of Thrones” that our heroes have to navigate to reach safety. The reality is not that different. It’s the space that young companies have to navigate from having a good idea to getting financial backing, so they can move … Continue reading How CIRM support helped a promising approach to type 1 diabetes get vital financial backing
Researcher claims to have made first gene-edited baby. But did it really happen?
Remember the Raelians? Probably not. But way back in 2002 the group, some described them as a cult, claimed it had created the world’s first cloned baby. The news made headlines all around the world raising fears we were stepping into uncharted scientific territory. Several weeks later the scientist brought in by the Raelians to … Continue reading Researcher claims to have made first gene-edited baby. But did it really happen?
New partnership to make CIRM supported treatment for type 1 diabetes even better
ViaCyte, a regenerative medicine company long backed by CIRM, announced a partnership with CRISPR Therapeutics to increase the number of people with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) who could benefit from their PEC-Direct therapeutic implant. Last year, CIRM granted ViaCyte $20 million to facilitate development of PEC-Direct, a device that both transplants pancreatic progenitor stem … Continue reading New partnership to make CIRM supported treatment for type 1 diabetes even better
California’s Stem Cell Agency Accelerates Treatments to Patients
The following article is an Op Ed that appeared in today's print version of the San Francisco Chronicle Biotechnology was born in California in the 1970s based on the discovery out of one of its universities and California is responsible for an industry that has impacted the lives of billions of people worldwide. In 2004, … Continue reading California’s Stem Cell Agency Accelerates Treatments to Patients
The Five Types of Stem Cells
When I give an “Intro to Stem Cells” presentation to, say, high school students or to a local Rotary Club, I begin by explaining that there are three main types of stem cells: (1) embryonic stem cells (ESCs) (2) adult stem cells and (3) induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Well, like most things in science, … Continue reading The Five Types of Stem Cells
Stem Cell Roundup: Artificial Embryos to Study Miscarriage and ALS Insight – Muscle Repair Cells Go Rogue
Stem Cell Image of the Week: Artificial embryos for studying miscarriage (Adonica Shaw) This week's stem cell image of the week comes from a team of researchers from The University of Cambridge who published research in Nature Cell Biology earlier this week indicating they’d achieved a breakthrough in stem cell research that resulted in the generation … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: Artificial Embryos to Study Miscarriage and ALS Insight – Muscle Repair Cells Go Rogue
Stem cell treatment for spinal cord injury offers improved chance of independent life for patients
A spinal cord injury is devastating, changing a person’s life in a heartbeat. In the past there was little that doctors could do other than offer pain relief and physical therapy to try and regain as much muscle function as possible. That’s why the latest results from the CIRM-supported Asterias Biotherapeutics spinal cord injury trial … Continue reading Stem cell treatment for spinal cord injury offers improved chance of independent life for patients
The Stem Cellar 