Imilce Rodriguez-Fernandez likes to talk trash. No, really, she does. In her case it’s cellular trash, the kind that builds up in our cells and has to be removed to ensure the cells don’t become sick. Imilce was one of several stem cell researchers who took part in a couple of public events over the … Continue reading Trash talking and creating a stem cell community
Gene editing
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: relief for jaw pain, vitamins for iPSCs and Alzheimer’s insights
Jaw bone stem cells may offer relief for suffers of painful joint disorder An estimated 10 million people in the US – mostly women - suffer from problems with their temporomandibular joint (TMJ) which sits between the jaw bone and skull. TMJ disorders can lead to a number of symptoms such as intense pain in … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: relief for jaw pain, vitamins for iPSCs and Alzheimer’s insights
Stem Cell Experts Discuss the Ethical Implications of Translating iPSCs to the Clinic
Part of The Stem Cellar blog series on 10 years of iPSCs. This year, scientists are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Shinya Yamanaka’s Nobel Prize winning discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). These are cells that are very similar biologically to embryonic stem cells and can develop into any cell in the body. iPSCs … Continue reading Stem Cell Experts Discuss the Ethical Implications of Translating iPSCs to the Clinic
Funding stem cell research targeting a rare and life-threatening disease in children
If you have never heard of cystinosis you should consider yourself fortunate. It’s a rare condition caused by an inherited genetic mutation. It hits early and it hits hard. Children with cystinosis are usually diagnosed before age 2 and are in end-stage kidney failure by the time they are 9. If that’s not bad enough … Continue reading Funding stem cell research targeting a rare and life-threatening disease in children
Here’s a new gene editing strategy to treat genetic blood disorders
If you’re taking a road trip across the country, you have a starting point and an ending point. How you go from point A to point B could be one of a million different routes, but the ultimate outcome is the same: reaching your final destination. Yesterday scientists from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital published … Continue reading Here’s a new gene editing strategy to treat genetic blood disorders
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: screening for cancer drugs for kids, better CRISPR gene editing and funding for chimeras
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. Stem cells screen drugs for kids’ rare tumor. A team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore has transformed stem cells into a particularly nasty form … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: screening for cancer drugs for kids, better CRISPR gene editing and funding for chimeras
Advancing Stem Cell Research at the CIRM Bridges Conference
Where will stem cell research be in 10 years? What would you say to patients who wanted stem cell therapies now? What are the most promising applications for stem cell research? Why is it important for the government to fund regenerative medicine? These challenging and thought-provoking questions were posed to a vibrant group of undergraduate … Continue reading Advancing Stem Cell Research at the CIRM Bridges Conference
Sickle Cell Disease Leaves No Organ Untouched
“There really isn’t an organ in the body that isn’t affected by sickle cell disease.” This striking comment was made by the Dr. Bertram Lubin, the CEO and President of the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) and a CIRM Board Member. Yesterday Dr. Lubin visited CIRM headquarters to talk about sickle cell disease (SCD). … Continue reading Sickle Cell Disease Leaves No Organ Untouched
Approach that inspires DREADD could create new way to treat Parkinson’s disease
Dopamine producing brain nerve cells, made from embryonic stem cells Imagine having a treatment for Parkinson’s that acts like a light switch, enabling you to turn it on or off depending on your needs. Well, that’s what researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have come up with. And if it works, it might help change … Continue reading Approach that inspires DREADD could create new way to treat Parkinson’s disease
Brave new world or dark threatening future: a clear-eyed look at genome editing and what it means for humanity
Is this the face of the future? “Have you ever wished that there were something different about yourself? Maybe you imagined yourself taller, thinner or stronger? Smarter? More attractive? Healthier?” That’s the question posed by UC Davis stem cell researcher (and CIRM grantee) Paul Knoepfler at the start of his intriguing new book ‘GMO … Continue reading Brave new world or dark threatening future: a clear-eyed look at genome editing and what it means for humanity