Last week the scientific community was buzzing with the news that US scientists had genetically modified human embryos using CRISPR gene editing technology. While the story broke before the research was published, many journalists and news outlets weighed in on the study’s findings and the ethical implications they raise. We covered this initial burst of … Continue reading Scientists fix heart disease mutation in human embryos using CRISPR
News
ViaCyte treats first patients in PEC-Direct stem cell trial for type 1 diabetes
Today, ViaCyte shared an update on its latest clinical trial for type 1 diabetes (T1D). The company is based in San Diego and is developing two stem cell-based products that attempt to replace the pancreatic beta islet cells that are attacked by the immune system of patients with T1D. Their first product, called VC-01 or … Continue reading ViaCyte treats first patients in PEC-Direct stem cell trial for type 1 diabetes
Family, faith and funding from CIRM inspire one patient to plan for his future
Having been to many conferences and meetings over the years I have found there is a really simple way to gauge if someone is a good speaker, if they have the attention of people in the room. You just look around and see how many people are on their phones or laptops, checking their email … Continue reading Family, faith and funding from CIRM inspire one patient to plan for his future
Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: CRISPRing Human Embryos, brain stem cells slow aging & BrainStorm ALS trial joins CIRM Alpha Clinics
Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week. Enjoy! Scientists claim first CRISPR editing of human embryos in the US. Here’s the big story this week. Scientists from Portland, Oregon claim they genetically modified human embryos using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology. While their results have yet to be published in … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: CRISPRing Human Embryos, brain stem cells slow aging & BrainStorm ALS trial joins CIRM Alpha Clinics
UC Irvine scientists engineer stem cells to “feel” cancer and destroy it
By blocking cell division, chemotherapy drugs take advantage of the fact that cancer cells multiply rapidly in the body. Though this treatment can extend and even save the lives of cancer patients, it’s somewhat like destroying an ant hill with an atomic bomb: there’s a lot of collateral damage. The treatment is infused through the … Continue reading UC Irvine scientists engineer stem cells to “feel” cancer and destroy it
CIRM-funded life-saving stem cell therapy gets nod of approval from FDA
If you have read our 2016 Annual Report (and if you haven’t you should, it’s brilliant) or just seen the cover you’ll know that it features very prominently a young girl named Evie Padilla Vaccaro. Evie was born with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency or SCID – also known as “bubble baby disease”; we’ve written about it … Continue reading CIRM-funded life-saving stem cell therapy gets nod of approval from FDA
Stem cell agency funds Phase 3 clinical trial for Lou Gehrig’s disease
At CIRM we don’t have a disease hierarchy list that we use to guide where our funding goes. We don’t rank a disease by how many people suffer from it, if it affects children or adults, or how painful it is. But if we did have that kind of hierarchy you can be sure that … Continue reading Stem cell agency funds Phase 3 clinical trial for Lou Gehrig’s disease
‘Pay-to-Participate’ stem cell clinical studies, the ugly stepchild of ClinicalTrials.gov
When patients are looking for clinical trials testing new drugs or treatments for their disease, one of the main websites they visit is ClinicalTrials.gov. It’s a registry provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of approximately 250,000 clinical trials spanning over 200 countries around the world. If you visit the website, you’ll find CIRM’s … Continue reading ‘Pay-to-Participate’ stem cell clinical studies, the ugly stepchild of ClinicalTrials.gov
Stories that caught our eye: Spinal cord injury trial milestone, iPS for early cancer diagnosis, and storing videos in DNA
Spinal cord injury clinical trial hits another milestone (Kevin McCormack) We began the week with good news about our CIRM-funded clinical trial with Asterias for spinal cord injury, and so it’s nice to end the week with more good news from that same trial. On Wednesday, Asterias announced it had completed enrolling and dosing patients … Continue reading Stories that caught our eye: Spinal cord injury trial milestone, iPS for early cancer diagnosis, and storing videos in DNA
One man’s journey with leukemia has turned into a quest to make bone marrow stem cell transplants safer
I read a story yesterday in Science Magazine that really stuck with me. It’s about a man who was diagnosed with leukemia and received a life-saving stem cell transplant that is now threatening his health. The man is name Lukas Wartman and is a doctor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He … Continue reading One man’s journey with leukemia has turned into a quest to make bone marrow stem cell transplants safer
The Stem Cellar 