Type 1 diabetes is such a life-changing illness that scores of teams around the world are looking for ways to replace the insulin-producing pancreatic cells that are destroyed in the disease. Many of these researchers use stem cells of various types to try to generate large quantities of insulin producing cells that could be transplanted. … Continue reading Research points to another path toward giving diabetics the insulin-producing cells they need

An adage in real estate says that the most important thing is neighborhood, neighborhood, neighborhood. Researchers are learning that the same may be true for stem cell therapies. If you want to mature stem cells into the right adult tissue and get them to behave the way you want, you better pay attention to the … Continue reading Making stem cells feel like they are growing in the right neighborhood may be key to success

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. Generating real heart muscle for repair. There was some good news last week on stem cells for heart disease despite the much-covered analysis from the … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: heart disease, muscle repair and cloning

I have been collaborating with the Regenerative Medicine Foundation (RMF) since 2010, and I’m often asked how I became involved with them. As we prepare to gather for the RMF’s annual conference in Berkeley, CA next week, I thought this would be a good time to tell you my story, and how my art fits … Continue reading How I Became an Artist Ambassador for Regenerative Medicine

One out of every 100 men are unable to produce sperm—making it impossible for them to become biological fathers. Researchers have long wondered whether this infertility is hardwired from birth. But in new research published this week, scientists have found that this may not be the case. In the latest issue of the journal Cell … Continue reading Stem Cell Study Uncovers Clues; Potential Solutions to Male Infertility

New President Randy Mills with a very happy Board Chair Jonathan Thomas In the end, the choice was simple.When we began our search for a new President of the stem cell agency we knew it wouldn’t be easy to find someone with the skills, experience and expertise we needed.We hired a highly regarded executive search … Continue reading The making of a President; why we chose Randy Mills to lead the stem cell agency

It’s not often you hear gasps of amazement from an audience, particularly not when that audience is a highly educated, very influential, not-easily-impressed group of people. But a panel presentation at the Milken Global Conference yesterday did just that, by describing the game-changing potential of stem cell therapies.The Milken Global Conference is an extraordinary event … Continue reading Making a Think Tank think again; opening eyes to stem cell research

Image: Derrick Rossi [credit: Boston Children's Hospital] It’s one of regenerative medicine’s most sought-after goals, but also one of the most difficult to reach: figuring out how to produce blood-forming hematopoietic stem cells, or HSCs. But now, researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute at Boston Children’s Hospital have identified a stem cell-based technique that … Continue reading Scientists Reprogram Mature Blood Cells to Generate Elusive Blood Stem Cells

Wow. What a weekend. We don’t have the official numbers yet, but it sure felt like the organizers met their projections of 200,000 plus attendees at the USA Science and Engineering Festival. Exhibitors offering the kids the chance to see or participate in hands-on science filled two entire floors of the Washington convention center. And … Continue reading Kids and their parents turn out on mass in nation’s capital to learn about science and engineering