Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition sketch: Photo courtesy Daily Mail UK It’s not often an article on stem cell research brings the old, but still much loved, British comedy series Monty Python into the discussion but a new study in the journal Cell Stem Cell does just that, comparing the impact of CIRM and the UK’s … Continue reading The Spanish Inquisition and a tale of two stem cell agencies
CIRM News
T cell fate and future immunotherapies rely on a tag team of genetic switches
Imagine if scientists could build microscopic smart missiles that specifically seek out and destroy deadly, hard-to-treat cancer cells in a patient’s body? Well, you don’t have to imagine it actually. With techniques such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T therapy, a patient’s own T cells – immune system cells that fight off viruses and cancer … Continue reading T cell fate and future immunotherapies rely on a tag team of genetic switches
Spotlight on CIRM Grantee Joe Wu: Clinical Trials for Heart Disease in a Dish?
It’s always exciting to read a science article featuring a talented scientist who is breaking boundaries in the field of regenerative medicine. It’s especially exciting to us at CIRM when the scientist is a CIRM grantee. Last week, OZY published a fun and inspiring piece on Stanford scientist Joe Wu. Dr. Wu is the Director … Continue reading Spotlight on CIRM Grantee Joe Wu: Clinical Trials for Heart Disease in a Dish?
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
Filling the Holes in our Understanding of Stem Cell Fate
How does a single-celled human embryo transform into a human body with intricate organ systems containing trillions of specialized cells? Step into any college lecture discussing this question and I bet “transcription factors” is a phrase you’ll often hear. Transcription factors are DNA-binding proteins that act as cell fate control switches during development. For cells … Continue reading Filling the Holes in our Understanding of Stem Cell Fate
Shedding Light on a Path to Halting Deadly Pancreatic Cancers
Pancreatic cancer has a dismal prognosis: only a quarter of those diagnosed survive past one year and only about six percent live beyond five years. Its strong resistance to chemotherapy makes pancreatic cancer one of the most aggressive, deadly cancers and leaves doctors with few treatment options. New ways to study pancreatic cancer are desperately … Continue reading Shedding Light on a Path to Halting Deadly Pancreatic Cancers
Good from bad: UCSF scientists turn scar-forming cells into healthy liver cells
Most people know that a healthy liver is key for survival. Unfortunately, maintaining a healthy liver isn’t always easy. There are more than 100 different types of liver disease caused by various factors like viral infection, obesity, and genetics. If left untreated, they can progress to end-stage liver disease, also known as cirrhosis, which effects … Continue reading Good from bad: UCSF scientists turn scar-forming cells into healthy liver cells
Outsmarting cancer’s deadly tricks
Cancer cells are devious monsters that kill people by sabotaging normal cell functions toward a path of uncontrolled cell growth. Without an effective treatment, aggressive cancers can crowd out healthy tissue and ultimately cause organ failure and death. This devastation by design makes it seem as though a cancer cell has a mind of its … Continue reading Outsmarting cancer’s deadly tricks
More Good News From CIRM-Funded Spinal Cord Injury Trial
It’s been less than a year since we last reported on the CIRM-funded Asterias Biotherapeutics trial for spinal cord injury (SCI), and we already have more – still preliminary – but good news to share. The company recently released encouraging long-term follow-up results from their original Phase 1 clinical trial that suggest their stem cell … Continue reading More Good News From CIRM-Funded Spinal Cord Injury Trial
What’s the big idea? Or in this case, what’s the 19 big ideas?
Have you ever stood in line in a supermarket checkout line and browsed through the magazines stacked conveniently at eye level? (of course you have, we all have). They are always filled with attention-grabbing headlines like “5 Ways to a Slimmer You by Christmas” or “Ten Tips for Rock Hard Abs” (that one doesn’t work … Continue reading What’s the big idea? Or in this case, what’s the 19 big ideas?
The Stem Cellar 