In 2008, the then California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared Sept. 25 to be Stem Cell Awareness Day. In the proclamation he said, ”The discoveries being made today in our Golden State will have a great impact on many around the world for generations to come.” In the years since, we have moved steadily towards turning … Continue reading Stem Cell Awareness Day: Past, Present, Future
Stem cell research
Can Stem Cell Therapies Help ALS Patients?
A scientist’s fifteen-year journey to develop a stem cell-based therapy that could one day help ALS patients. “Can stem cells help me Clive?” The sentence appeared slowly on a computer screen, each character separated by a pause while its author searched for the next character using a device controlled by his eye muscle. The person … Continue reading Can Stem Cell Therapies Help ALS Patients?
Stem Cell Stories that Caught Our Eye: New law to protect consumers; using skin to monitor blood sugar; and a win for the good guys
New law targets stem cell clinics that offer therapies not approved by the FDA For some time now CIRM and others around California have been warning consumers about the risks involved in going to clinics that offer stem cell therapies that have not been tested in a clinical trial or approved by the U.S. Food … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught Our Eye: New law to protect consumers; using skin to monitor blood sugar; and a win for the good guys
CIRM-Funded Clinical Trials Targeting Cancers
Welcome to the Month of CIRM! As we mentioned in last Thursday’s blog, during the month of October we’ll be looking back at what CIRM has done since the agency was created by the people of California back in 2004. To start things off, we’ll be focusing on CIRM-funded clinical trials this week. Supporting clinical … Continue reading CIRM-Funded Clinical Trials Targeting Cancers
CIRM Board Appoints Dr. Maria Millan as President and CEO
Yesterday was a big day for CIRM. Our governing Board convened for its September ICOC meeting and appointed Dr. Maria Millan as our new President and CEO. Dr. Millan has been serving as the Interim President/CEO since July, replacing former President Dr. Randal Mills. Dr. Millan has been at CIRM since 2012 and was instrumental … Continue reading CIRM Board Appoints Dr. Maria Millan as President and CEO
An unexpected link: immune cells send muscle injury signal to activate stem cell regeneration
We’ve written many blogs over the years about research focused on muscle stem cell function . Those stories describe how satellite cells, another name for muscle stem cells, lay dormant but jump into action to grow new muscle cells in response to injury and damage. And when satellite function breaks down with aging as well as … Continue reading An unexpected link: immune cells send muscle injury signal to activate stem cell regeneration
CIRM Bridges Student Researcher Discovers Mentoring is a Two-Way Street
Jasmine Carter is a CIRM Bridges Scholar a Sacramento State University. She currently is interning in the lab of Dr. Kyle Fink at UC Davis and her research focuses on developing induced neurons from skin cells to model neurological disorders and develop novel therapeutics. Jasmine was a mentor to one of our UC Davis CIRM … Continue reading CIRM Bridges Student Researcher Discovers Mentoring is a Two-Way Street
How a funny-looking creature could unlock the secrets of limb regeneration
In the world of funny-looking creatures, the Axolotl would have to rank in the top ten alongside such notables as the naked mole rat and the blob fish (the official mascot for the Ugly Animal Preservation Society). But the Axolotl does have one attribute that makes it attractive to more than just another Axolotl. That’s … Continue reading How a funny-looking creature could unlock the secrets of limb regeneration
Stem Cell Stories That Caught Our Eye: Halting Brain Cancer, Parkinson’s disease and Stem Cell Awareness Day
Stopping brain cancer in its tracks. Scientists at Stanford Medicine discovered that you can halt aggressive brain cancers called high-grade gliomas by cutting off their supply of a signaling protein called neuroligin-3. Their research, which was funded by CIRM and the NIH, was published this week in the journal Nature. The Stanford team, led by … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories That Caught Our Eye: Halting Brain Cancer, Parkinson’s disease and Stem Cell Awareness Day
UCLA scientists begin a journey to restore the sense of touch in paralyzed patients
Yesterday, CIRM-funded scientists at UCLA published an interesting study that sheds light on the development of sensory neurons, a type of nerve cell that is damaged in patients with spinal cord injury. Their early-stage findings could potentially, down the road, lead to the development of stem cell-based treatments that rebuild the sensory nervous system in … Continue reading UCLA scientists begin a journey to restore the sense of touch in paralyzed patients
The Stem Cellar 