I read a story yesterday in Science Magazine that really stuck with me. It’s about a man who was diagnosed with leukemia and received a life-saving stem cell transplant that is now threatening his health. The man is name Lukas Wartman and is a doctor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He … Continue reading One man’s journey with leukemia has turned into a quest to make bone marrow stem cell transplants safer
Cell Type
Harnessing DNA as a programmable instruction kit for stem cell function
DNA is the fundamental molecule to all living things. The genetic sequences embedded in its double-helical structure contain the instructions for producing proteins, the building blocks of our cells. When our cells divide, DNA readily unzips into two strands and makes a copy of itself for each new daughter cell. In a Nature Communications report … Continue reading Harnessing DNA as a programmable instruction kit for stem cell function
CIRM-funded stem cell clinical trial for spinal cord injury expands patient recruitment
It’s always great to start the week off with some good news. Today we learned that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given Asterias Biotherapeutics approval to expand the number and type of people with spinal cord injuries that it treats in their CIRM-funded clinical trial. Up till now, Asterias has been treating people … Continue reading CIRM-funded stem cell clinical trial for spinal cord injury expands patient recruitment
Making brain stem cells act more like salmon than bloodhounds
Like salmon swimming against a river current, brain stem cells can travel against their normal migration stream with the help of electrical stimuli, so says CIRM-funded research published this week in Stem Cell Reports. The research, carried out by a team of UC Davis scientists, could one day provide a means for guiding brain stem … Continue reading Making brain stem cells act more like salmon than bloodhounds
Wall Street Journal features CIRM-funded clinical trials aiming for a diabetes cure
We think CIRM-funded clinical trials hold so much promise that it doesn’t surprise us when major news organizations publish stories about these projects that aim to provide stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs. But we certainly don’t mind the attention! This past Saturday, for example, the Wall Street Journal featured two CIRM-funded … Continue reading Wall Street Journal features CIRM-funded clinical trials aiming for a diabetes cure
Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: finding the perfect match, imaging stem cells and understanding gene activity
Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week. Enjoy! LAPD officer in search of the perfect match. This week, the San Diego Union-Tribune featured a story that tugs at your heart strings about an LAPD officer in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant. Matthew Medina is a 40-year-old man who was … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: finding the perfect match, imaging stem cells and understanding gene activity
Cancer-causing mutations in blood stem cells may also link to heart disease
Whether we read about it in the news or hear it from our doctor, when we think about the causes of heart disease it’s usually some combination of inheriting bad genes from our parents and making poor life style choices like smoking or eating a diet high in fat and cholesterol. But in a fascinating … Continue reading Cancer-causing mutations in blood stem cells may also link to heart disease
4 things to know about stem cell clinical trials [Video]
Every day, we receive phone calls and emails from people who are desperately seeking our help. Sometimes they reach out on their own behalf, though often it’s for a family member or close friend. In every case, someone is suffering or dying from a disorder that has no available cure or effective treatment and they … Continue reading 4 things to know about stem cell clinical trials [Video]
World Sickle Cell Day: A View from the Front Line
June 19th is World Sickle Cell Day. Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that causes normally round red blood cells to take on an abnormal sickle shape, resulting in clogged arteries, severe pain, increased risk of stroke and reduced life expectancy. To mark the occasion we asked Nancy M. Rene to write a … Continue reading World Sickle Cell Day: A View from the Front Line
Stories that caught our eye: An antibody that could make stem cell research safer; scientists prepare for clinical trial for Parkinson’s disease; and the stem cell scientist running for Congress
Antibody to make stem cells safer: There is an old Chinese proverb that states: ‘What seems like a blessing could be a curse’. In some ways that proverb could apply to stem cells. For example, pluripotent stem cells have the extraordinary ability to turn into many other kinds of cells, giving researchers a tool to … Continue reading Stories that caught our eye: An antibody that could make stem cell research safer; scientists prepare for clinical trial for Parkinson’s disease; and the stem cell scientist running for Congress
The Stem Cellar 