Dr. Alysson Muotri, in his lab at UCSD For Dr. Alysson Muotri, unlocking autism’s biology is personal. His son has autism, and Muotri hopes to help him and millions of others. A Mission to Understand Autism He launched the Tooth Fairy Project, which collected more than 3,000 donated baby teeth from children with and without … Continue reading Unlocking the secrets of autism
Autism
Stem Cell Agency Board Invests in 19 Discovery Research Programs Targeting Cancers, Heart Disease and Other Disorders
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Dr. Judy Shizuru, Stanford University While stem cell and gene therapy research has advanced dramatically in recent years, there are still many unknowns and many questions remaining about how best to use these approaches in developing therapies. That’s why the governing Board of the California Institute … Continue reading Stem Cell Agency Board Invests in 19 Discovery Research Programs Targeting Cancers, Heart Disease and Other Disorders
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
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
Two voices, one message, watch out for predatory stem cell clinics
Last week two new papers came out echoing each other about the dangers of bogus “therapies” being offered by predatory stem cell clinics and the risks they pose to patients. The first was from the Pew Charitable Trusts entitled: ‘Harms Linked to Unapproved Stem Cell Interventions Highlight Need for Greater FDA Enforcement’ with a subtitle: … Continue reading Two voices, one message, watch out for predatory stem cell clinics
“Mini-brains” model an autism spectrum disorder and help test treatments
Alysson Muotri, PhD, professor and director of the Stem Cell Program at UC San Diego School of Medicine and member of the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine. Image credit: UC San Diego Health Rett syndrome is a rare form of autism spectrum disorder that impairs brain development and causes problems with movement, speech, and even … Continue reading “Mini-brains” model an autism spectrum disorder and help test treatments
Ask the Stem Cell Team About Autism
On March 19th we held a special Facebook Live "Ask the Stem Cell Team About Autism" event. We were fortunate enough to have two great experts - Dr. Alysson Muotri from UC San Diego, and CIRM's own Dr. Kelly Shepard. As always there is a lot of ground to cover in under one hour and … Continue reading Ask the Stem Cell Team About Autism
Why “Ask the Stem Cell Team” Remains Important
These are definitely strange, unusual and challenging times. Every day seems to bring new restrictions on what we can and should do. All, of course, in the name of protecting us and helping us avoid a potentially deadly virus. We all hope this will soon pass but we also know the bigger impact of the … Continue reading Why “Ask the Stem Cell Team” Remains Important
You can bank on CIRM
Way back in 2013, the CIRM Board invested $32 million in a project to create an iPSC Bank. The goal was simple; to collect tissue samples from people who have different diseases, turn those samples into high quality stem cell lines - the kind known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) - and create a … Continue reading You can bank on CIRM
Ask the Stem Cell Team About Autism
Do an online search for “autism stem cells” and you quickly come up with numerous websites offering stem cell therapies for autism. They offer encouraging phrases like “new and effective approach” and “a real, lasting treatment.” They even include dense scientific videos featuring people like Dr. Arnold Caplan, a professor at Case Western Reserve University … Continue reading Ask the Stem Cell Team About Autism