How smelling your food could cause weight gain (Karen Ring). Here’s the headline that caught my eye this week: “Smelling your food first can make you fat…” It’s a bizarre statement, but the claim is backed by scientific research coming from a new study in Cell Metabolism by researchers at the University of California Berkeley. … Continue reading Stories that caught our eye: smelling weight gain, colon cancer & diet and diabetes & broken bones
Lights, Camera, Stem Cells! How photo-responsive hydrogels can improve stem cell therapies
These days, going to the movie theater is like riding the wildest rollercoaster at your local theme park. It can be an IMAX 3D, surround sound, vibrating seat experience that makes you feel like you’re living the actual movie. As the entertainment industry evolves towards more intense, realistic cinematic experiences, scientists are following a similar … Continue reading Lights, Camera, Stem Cells! How photo-responsive hydrogels can improve stem cell therapies
Making brain stem cells act more like salmon than bloodhounds
Like salmon swimming against a river current, brain stem cells can travel against their normal migration stream with the help of electrical stimuli, so says CIRM-funded research published this week in Stem Cell Reports. The research, carried out by a team of UC Davis scientists, could one day provide a means for guiding brain stem … Continue reading Making brain stem cells act more like salmon than bloodhounds
Emotions and gratitude at changing of the guard at Stem Cell Agency
Randy, as regular readers of this blog know, is, or rather was, the President and CEO of CIRM. James Harrison is less well known to the outside world but his imprint on CIRM, as our General Counsel and one of the key figures behind Proposition 71, is even bigger than that of Randy’s. Randy came … Continue reading Emotions and gratitude at changing of the guard at Stem Cell Agency
Stem Cell Stories that Caught Our Eye: perfecting pluripotency, building a spinal cord, and CIRM Board funds new clinical trials
Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week. Perfecting Pluripotency in stem cells. The power of pluripotent stem cells lies in their ability to become any cell type in the body. But how did they get this impressive power? Scientists from the University of Zurich in Switzerland think they might have … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught Our Eye: perfecting pluripotency, building a spinal cord, and CIRM Board funds new clinical trials
Scientist grow diseased brain cells in bulk to study Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease
Daily trips to the local grocery store have become a thing of the past for many with the rise of wholesale stores like Costco and online giants like Amazon. Buying in bulk is attractive for people who lead busy lives, have large families, or just love having endless pairs of clean socks. Scientists who study … Continue reading Scientist grow diseased brain cells in bulk to study Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease
Wall Street Journal features CIRM-funded clinical trials aiming for a diabetes cure
We think CIRM-funded clinical trials hold so much promise that it doesn’t surprise us when major news organizations publish stories about these projects that aim to provide stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs. But we certainly don’t mind the attention! This past Saturday, for example, the Wall Street Journal featured two CIRM-funded … Continue reading Wall Street Journal features CIRM-funded clinical trials aiming for a diabetes cure
Bridging the divide: stem cell students helping families with rare diseases become partners in research
Sometimes it’s the simplest things that make the biggest impact. For example, introducing a scientist to a patient can help them drive stem cell research forward faster than either one could do on their own. Want proof? This year, students in CIRM’s Bridges to Stem Cell Research and Therapy program at California State University (CSU) … Continue reading Bridging the divide: stem cell students helping families with rare diseases become partners in research
Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: finding the perfect match, imaging stem cells and understanding gene activity
Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week. Enjoy! LAPD officer in search of the perfect match. This week, the San Diego Union-Tribune featured a story that tugs at your heart strings about an LAPD officer in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant. Matthew Medina is a 40-year-old man who was … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: finding the perfect match, imaging stem cells and understanding gene activity
Cancer-causing mutations in blood stem cells may also link to heart disease
Whether we read about it in the news or hear it from our doctor, when we think about the causes of heart disease it’s usually some combination of inheriting bad genes from our parents and making poor life style choices like smoking or eating a diet high in fat and cholesterol. But in a fascinating … Continue reading Cancer-causing mutations in blood stem cells may also link to heart disease
The Stem Cellar 