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
Stem cell research
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
Need a new ear, why not grow it from an apple?
That may be one of the strangest headlines you have read in a while, but believe me, the rest of this post is not going to be any less strange. And yet, the work behind that headline could open up the possibility of using everyday produce, such as apples and asparagus, as tools to help … Continue reading Need a new ear, why not grow it from an apple?
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
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: a surprising benefit of fasting, faster way to make iPSCs, unlocking the secret of leukemia cancer cells
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. Is fasting the fountain of youth? Among the many insults our bodies endure in old age is a weakened immune system which leaves the elderly … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: a surprising benefit of fasting, faster way to make iPSCs, unlocking the secret of leukemia cancer cells
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
Get your BIO on: Sneak Peak of the June 2016 BIO Convention in SF
Summer is almost here and for scientists around the world, that means it’s time to flock to one of the world’s biggest biotech meetings, the BIO International Convention. This year, BIO is hosted in the lovely city of San Francisco. From June 6-9th, over 15,000 biotechnology and pharma leaders, as well as other professionals, academics, … Continue reading Get your BIO on: Sneak Peak of the June 2016 BIO Convention in SF
Adding new stem cell tools to the Parkinson’s disease toolbox
Understanding a complicated neurodegenerative disorder like Parkinson’s disease (PD) is no easy task. While there are known genetic risk factors that cause PD, only about 10 percent of cases are linked to a genetic cause. The majority of patients suffer from the sporadic form of PD, where the causes are unknown but thought to be … Continue reading Adding new stem cell tools to the Parkinson’s disease toolbox
You Call It Corn Stem Cells, We Call It An A-Maize-Ing Hope to Feed the World
Here at the Stem Cellar, we’re laser-beam focused on the exciting progress being made to bring stem cell-based treatments to patients with unmet medical needs. But what good will those life-saving treatments be if the patients end up starving from hunger? It’s a serious question to ask considering the world’s diminishing farmlands and yet another … Continue reading You Call It Corn Stem Cells, We Call It An A-Maize-Ing Hope to Feed the World
How To Be a CIRM Stem Cell Champion
Patients suffering from incurable diseases don’t have the luxury of being patient. Their lives depend on the speedy development of new therapies. That’s why our mission at CIRM is to accelerate stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs. Through CIRM funding of top-notch stem cell research – some of which is already in … Continue reading How To Be a CIRM Stem Cell Champion