Right now, about 120,000 Americans are on a waiting list for an organ transplant and 22 will die today before any organs become available. The plain truth is there aren’t enough organ donors to meet the demand. And according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the number of available organ donors has … Continue reading Growing a rat pancreas in a mouse with stem cells & CRISPR: a solution for the organ shortage crisis?
Gene editing
Stem Cell Profiles in Courage: Brenden Whittaker
It’s not often you meet someone who says one of their favorite things in the world is mowing the lawn. But then, there aren’t many people in the world like Brenden Whittaker. In fact, as of this writing, he may be unique. Brenden was born with severe chronic granulomatous disease (x-CGD), a rare genetic disorder … Continue reading Stem Cell Profiles in Courage: Brenden Whittaker
Stem cell and gene therapy research gets a good report card from industry leader
The state of the regenerative medicine field is strong and getting stronger. That was the bottom line verdict at the 2017 Cell and Gene Therapies State of the Industry briefing in San Francisco. The briefing, an annual update on the field presented by the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), gave a “by the numbers” look … Continue reading Stem cell and gene therapy research gets a good report card from industry leader
Cured by Stem Cells
To get anywhere you need a good map, and you need to check it constantly to make sure you are still on the right path and haven’t strayed off course. A year ago the CIRM Board gave us a map, a Strategic Plan, that laid out our course for the next five years. Our Annual … Continue reading Cured by Stem Cells
Translating great stem cell ideas into effective therapies
In science, there are a lot of terms that could easily mystify people without a research background; “translational” is not one of them. Translational research simply means to take findings from basic research and advance them into something that is ready to be tested in people in a clinical trial. Yesterday our Governing Board approved … Continue reading Translating great stem cell ideas into effective therapies
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: glowing stem cells and new insights into Zika and SCID
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. Glowing stem cells help scientists understand how cells work. (Karen Ring) It’s easy to notice when something is going wrong. It’s a lot harder to … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: glowing stem cells and new insights into Zika and SCID
Key Steps Along the Way To Finding Treatments for HIV on World AIDS Day
Today, December 1st, is World AIDS Day. It's a day to acknowledge the progress that is being made in HIV prevention and treatment around the world but also to renew our commitment to a future free of HIV. This year's theme is Leadership. Commitment. Impact. At CIRM we are funding a number of projects focused … Continue reading Key Steps Along the Way To Finding Treatments for HIV on World AIDS Day
Stem cell agency funds clinical trials in three life-threatening conditions
A year ago the CIRM Board unanimously approved a new Strategic Plan for the stem cell agency. In the plan are some rather ambitious goals, including funding ten new clinical trials in 2016. For much of the last year that has looked very ambitious indeed. But today the Board took a big step towards reaching … Continue reading Stem cell agency funds clinical trials in three life-threatening conditions
Advancements in gene editing make blind rats see light
Gene editing is a rapidly advancing technology that scientists are using to manipulate the genomes of cells with precision and accuracy. Many of these experiments are being conducted on stem cells to genetic mutations in an attempt to find cures for various diseases like cancer, HIV and blindness. Speaking of blindness, researchers from the Salk Institute … Continue reading Advancements in gene editing make blind rats see light
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: How Zika may impact adult brains; Move over CRISPR there’s a new kid in town; How our bodies store fat
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. Zika virus could impact adult brains It’s not just a baby’s developing brain that is vulnerable to the Zika virus, adult brains may be too. … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: How Zika may impact adult brains; Move over CRISPR there’s a new kid in town; How our bodies store fat
The Stem Cellar 