Aging is a key risk factor for many diseases, particularly disorders of the brain like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, which primarily occur in the elderly. So a better understanding of the aging process should provide a better understanding of these neurodegenerative diseases. The induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technique makes it possible to grow human brain … Continue reading Keeping elderly cells old to understand the aging process
Disease Areas
The New World That iPS Cells Will Bring
A stem cell champion was crowned last month. Dr. Takahashi from the RIKEN center in Japan received the prestigious Ogawa-Yamanaka Prize for developing a human iPS cell therapy to treat a debilitating eye disease called macular degeneration. We wrote about the event held at the Gladstone Institutes in a previous blog and saved the juicy insights … Continue reading The New World That iPS Cells Will Bring
CIRM scholar Ke Wei talks heart regeneration
“How do you mend a broken heart?” was the topic of one of our recent Stem Cellar blogs highlighting a stellar CIRM-funded publication on the regenerative abilities of the protein FSTL1 following heart injury. One of the master-minds behind this study is co-first author Ke Wei. Ke is a postdoc in Dr. Mark Mercola’s lab … Continue reading CIRM scholar Ke Wei talks heart regeneration
Seeing is believing: using video to explain stem cell science
People are visual creatures. So it’s no surprise that many of us learn best through visual means. In fact a study by the Social Science Research Network found that 65 percent of us are visual learners. That’s why videos are such useful tools in teaching and learning, and that’s why when we came across a … Continue reading Seeing is believing: using video to explain stem cell science
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: better heart muscle, first patient with eye cell patch, brain cross talk and gut bugs
Here are some stem cell stories that caught our eye this past week. Some are groundbreaking science, others are of personal interest to us, and still others are just fun. Growing better heart muscle in the lab. While researchers have been able to grow beating heart cells from stem cells in a dish for many … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: better heart muscle, first patient with eye cell patch, brain cross talk and gut bugs
Three teams empower patients’ immune systems to oust cancer
Immuno-oncology is all the rage now in biotech publications, with due cause. It is producing some pretty impressive results in patients who failed other therapies. Most of what gets written about involves strengthening or unlocking the action of one immune cell, the T cell. But our immune systems are armed with many types of ammunition; … Continue reading Three teams empower patients’ immune systems to oust cancer
One man’s story points to hope against a deadly skin cancer
At our May Board meeting a gentleman presented his story, which exemplifies being a patient and patient advocate. His name is Norm Beegun. And this is his story. Norm lives in Los Angeles. In 2002 he went to see his regular doctor, an old high school friend, who suggested that since it had been almost … Continue reading One man’s story points to hope against a deadly skin cancer
CIRM Fights Cancer: Two teams develop therapies to stop and eliminate cancer stem cells
Six out of the ten best selling drugs are proteins called monoclonal antibodies. But the prospect for monoclonal antibodies was not always so bright. It took a decade after their discovery in 1975 before they found any clinical use, even then it was very limited use for organ transplant rejection. It was a full twenty … Continue reading CIRM Fights Cancer: Two teams develop therapies to stop and eliminate cancer stem cells
Pioneering patients heroes of early clinical trials
When Frank Gonzales was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in November 2010 it was the start of a long fight against the disease. Chemotherapy helped keep the cancer in check, but it wasn’t a cure. So when Frank heard about a new experimental treatment, that seeks out and destroys cancer stem cells, he was intrigued. Frank … Continue reading Pioneering patients heroes of early clinical trials
CIRM fights cancer: $56 million for 5 clinical trials to vanquish tumors for good
[This is the first of three stories on CIRM’s Cancer Fight that we will post this week. Tomorrow’s will discuss two projects that attack cancer stem cells directly and Thursday's will describe three projects that help our immune system wipe out the traitorous cells.] It’s back—two words we would like to remove from the cancer … Continue reading CIRM fights cancer: $56 million for 5 clinical trials to vanquish tumors for good
The Stem Cellar 