It seems like an oxymoron but one in ten Americans has a rare disease. With more than 7,000 known rare diseases it’s easy to see how each one could affect thousands of individuals and still be considered a rare or orphan condition. Only 5% of rare diseases have FDA approved therapies People with rare … Continue reading Rare disease underdogs come out on top at CIRM Board meeting
Stem cell research
Five Cool Stem Cell Technologies to Tell Your Friends
As a former stem cell scientist turned science communicator, I love answering science questions no matter how complicated or bizarre. The other day my friend asked me about what CRISPR was and how scientists were using it on stem cells to help people. This got me thinking that it would be cool to do a … Continue reading Five Cool Stem Cell Technologies to Tell Your Friends
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
Scientists use human stem cell models to target deadly brain cancer
Malignant brain cancer is a devastating disease and it’s estimated that more than 16,000 patients will die of it this year. One of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer is gliomas, which originate from the support cells in the brain or spine that keep nerve cells happy and functioning. Unfortunately, there is no cure … Continue reading Scientists use human stem cell models to target deadly brain cancer
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: fighting cancer, a cell’s neighborhood matters, funding next generation scientists
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. Reprogramming skin to fight cancer. Earlier CIRM-funded research showed that adult nerve stem cells can home to the residual brain cancer left behind after surgery … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: fighting cancer, a cell’s neighborhood matters, funding next generation scientists
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)
CIRM-funded study suggests methods to make pluripotent stem cells are safe
We live in an era where stem cell treatments are already being tested in human clinical trials for eye disease, spinal cord injury, and type 1 diabetes. The hope is that transplanting stem cells or their cell derivatives will replace diseased tissue, restore function, and cure patients – all while being safe and without causing … Continue reading CIRM-funded study suggests methods to make pluripotent stem cells are safe
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
CIRM Scholar Jessica Gluck on using stem cells to make biological pacemakers for the heart
As part of our CIRM scholar series, we feature the research accomplishments of students and postdocs that have received CIRM funding. I’d like to introduce you to one of our CIRM Scholars, Jessica Gluck. She’s currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Davis working on human stem cell models of heart development. Jessica began her education … Continue reading CIRM Scholar Jessica Gluck on using stem cells to make biological pacemakers for the heart
How you derive embryonic stem cells matters
A scientist named James Thompson was the first to successfully culture human embryonic stem cells in 1998. He didn’t know it then, but his technique isolated a specific type of embryonic stem cell (ESC) that had a “primed pluripotent state”. There are actually two phases of pluripotency: naïve and primed. Naïve ESCs occur a step … Continue reading How you derive embryonic stem cells matters
The Stem Cellar 