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
Gladstone Institutes
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 cardiac love triangle: how transcription factors interact to make a heart
Here’s a heartfelt science story for all those Valentine’s day fans out there. Scientists from the Gladstone Institutes have identified how a group of transcription factors interact during embryonic development to make a healthy heart. Their work will increase our biological understanding of how the heart is formed and could produce new methods for treating … Continue reading A cardiac love triangle: how transcription factors interact to make a heart
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
CIRM Scholar Helen Fong on Stem Cells and Brain Disease
Meet another one of our talented CIRM Scholars, Helen Fong. She is currently a Research Scientist at the Gladstone Institutes and did her graduate work at the University of California, Irvine. Her passions include stem cells, disease modeling, and playing with differentiation protocols – the processes that tell stem cells to mature into specific tissues. … Continue reading CIRM Scholar Helen Fong on Stem Cells and Brain Disease
From Stem Cells to Cures with Shinya Yamanaka and Google Ventures
How do you go from basic stem cell research to cures for patients? We ask this question everyday at CIRM, and we’re not alone in our tireless pursuit to find answers to this challenging question. In fact, two leaders on different sides of the stem cell arena - research and investment - came together last … Continue reading From Stem Cells to Cures with Shinya Yamanaka and Google Ventures
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
The Ogawa-Yamanaka Prize Crowns Its First Stem Cell Champion
A world of dark Imagine if you woke up one day and couldn’t see. Your life would change drastically, and you would have to painfully relearn how to function in a world that heavily relies on sight. While most people don’t lose their sight overnight, many suffer from visual impairments that slowly happen over time. … Continue reading The Ogawa-Yamanaka Prize Crowns Its First Stem Cell Champion
The Stem Cellar 