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

CIRM Grantees Reflect on Ten Years of iPS Cells

For the fourth entry for our “Ten Years of Induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) Cells” series, which we’ve been posting all month, I reached out to three of our CIRM grantees to get their perspectives on the impact of iPSC technology on their research and the regenerative medicine field as a whole: Step back in time … Continue reading CIRM Grantees Reflect on Ten Years of iPS Cells

Stem cell stories that caught our eye: better bone marrow transplants, turbo charging anti-inflammatory stem cells and Zika’s weapons

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. Three steps to better BMT.  Bone marrow stem cell transplants (BMT) save the lives of many thousands of patients every year, but they also kill … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: better bone marrow transplants, turbo charging anti-inflammatory stem cells and Zika’s weapons

Multi-Talented Stem Cells: The Many Ways to Use Them in the Clinic

CIRM kicked off the 2016 International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Conference in San Francisco with a public stem cell event yesterday that brought scientists, patients, patient advocates and members of the general public together to discuss the many ways stem cells are being used in the clinic to develop treatments for patients with … Continue reading Multi-Talented Stem Cells: The Many Ways to Use Them in the Clinic

Double dose of good news: scientists use drugs to turn skin into heart and brain cells

Today the stem cell field got a double dose of good news. Two CIRM-funded studies from the Gladstone Institutes reported successfully reprogramming human skin into heart cells and brain cells in a dish using different cocktails of small molecule drugs. The work was led by Dr. Sheng Ding, a Senior Investigator at the Gladstone Institutes. … Continue reading Double dose of good news: scientists use drugs to turn skin into heart and brain cells

Easier, Cheaper Stem Cell-Based Heart Muscle Sets Stage for Large-Scale Drug Development

The great inventions – like the automobile, the Internet or aviation – are marked as important turning points in human history. But it’s usually the additional tinkering that goes on in the ensuing years after the initial invention that makes the technology feasible in terms of cost, reproducibility and mass production. The same holds true … Continue reading Easier, Cheaper Stem Cell-Based Heart Muscle Sets Stage for Large-Scale Drug Development

Ways to genetically alter stem cells just keep getting better

For science wonks the gene editing technique CRISPR appears in your email, Twitter feed, or journal reading daily, if not hourly. The incredibly easy and inexpensive way to edit the genes in cells has exploded in the past couple years and is increasingly being used to edit stem cells in the lab to study specific … Continue reading Ways to genetically alter stem cells just keep getting better

A new way to make heart stem cells could potentially repair the damage of heart disease

Today we’re going to talk about heart failure. It’s a sobering topic given that over 20 million people world wide are currently suffering from this disease. Heart failure happens when the body’s heart can no longer pump blood effectively, which can lead to many nasty side effects and inevitably hastens death. Typical strategies for treating … Continue reading A new way to make heart stem cells could potentially repair the damage of heart disease

Growing Stem Cell Research in California (Video)

How a Gladstone scientist is using bioengineering to push the pace of stem cell research At CIRM, we strive to fund the most promising stem cell research and speed the advancement of stem cell treatments to patients who need them. Because we are a state agency, we generally focus on funding scientists, universities, and companies … Continue reading Growing Stem Cell Research in California (Video)

A Win for Diabetes: Scientists Make Functional Pancreatic Cells From Skin

Today is an exciting day for diabetes research and patients. For the first time, scientists have succeeded in making functional pancreatic beta cells from human skin. This new method for making the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas could produce a new, more effective treatment for patients suffering from diabetes. Researchers at the Gladstone Institutes and … Continue reading A Win for Diabetes: Scientists Make Functional Pancreatic Cells From Skin