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. Event showed great progress, but Japan nipping at our heals. The San Diego Union Tribune’s Brad Fikes seemed to be enjoying covering the Stem Cell … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: fast track marketing in Japan, a 3D cell tour and autism

An international touring exhibit using super hero cells as guides to explain the many roles of stem cells in our lives opens today at the Sherbrooke Museum of Nature and Science in Canada. Its five-year tour will include further displays in Canada, the United Kingdom and three stops on California—the San Francisco Bay area, Los … Continue reading Museum exhibit explaining stem cell super heroes opens in Canada today, due in California in 2016

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. Review paints picture of the field today. A writer I have respected for many years, Karen Weintraub, wrote a nice review of the current state … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: a good review at the NY Times, expanding cord blood and leukemia

Shinya Yamanaka won the Nobel Prize for developing a recipe of genetic factors that can turn back the clock of adult cells and make them behave like embryonic stem cells. But he would be the first to tell you his recipe ultimately may not be the best one for making these stem cells called iPS … Continue reading New formula a more efficient way to reprogram adult cells to become like embryonic stem 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. Could cells in arteries be elusive heart stem cells? Our hearts have a modest limited ability to regenerate and repair themselves, suggesting we must have … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: heart stem cells, lizard tails and mapping progress in the field

The PR folks at the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology in Belgium produced an unusual press release to describe recent work there published in Developmental Cell. They devoted the first half to the marvels of their animal model the zebra fish. For those who have only seen these nearly transparent little guys in a home aquarium … Continue reading Tiny transparent zebra fish yields big clue to black box of Alzheimer’s disease

It’s always nice to start the week off with some good news and we got this week off to a great start with some great news. ViaCyte has been given the green light to start a clinical trial with its therapy for type 1 diabetes, a program we are funding.ViaCyte applied to the Food and … Continue reading CIRM funded therapy for type 1 diabetes gets FDA approval for clinical trial