Today is an exciting day for diabetes research and patients. For the first time, scientists have succeeded in making functional pancreatic beta cells from human skin. This new method for making the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas could produce a new, more effective treatment for patients suffering from diabetes. Researchers at the Gladstone Institutes and … Continue reading A Win for Diabetes: Scientists Make Functional Pancreatic Cells From Skin
Students use a 3D printer to sink their teeth into stem cell research
L-R Alan Tan, Sid Bommakanti, Daniel Chae - prize winning science students A 3D printer, some old teeth, and some terrific science were enough to help three high school students develop a new way of growing bone and win a $30,000 prize in a national competition. The three teamed up for the Siemens Competition in … Continue reading Students use a 3D printer to sink their teeth into stem cell research
While You Were Away: Gene Editing Treats Mice with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Welcome back everyone! I hope you enjoyed your holiday and are looking forward to an exciting new year. My favorite thing about coming back from vacation is to see what cool new science was published. Because as you know, science doesn’t take a vacation! As I was reading over the news for this past week, … Continue reading While You Were Away: Gene Editing Treats Mice with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
The 10 Most Popular Stem Cellar Stories of 2015
Each new year is exciting for CIRM because it means we’re one year closer to funding a stem cell therapy that will be approved for the treatment of an unmet medical need. 2015 was especially exciting for us. Under our new president Randy Mills, we launched our accelerated funding process, CIRM 2.0, and received Board … Continue reading The 10 Most Popular Stem Cellar Stories of 2015
CIRM’s clinical trial portfolio shows off stem cells’ many talents
When I first started working for California’s stem cell institute in 2008 I would never have guessed that we would be funding 15 clinical trials by the end of 2015. Medical science usually does not move that fast. But I, like most people back then, probably thought about stem cell science too narrowly, mostly as … Continue reading CIRM’s clinical trial portfolio shows off stem cells’ many talents
A New Vaccine Could Make Stem Cell Transplants Safer
Stem cell transplants offer a lot of promise for treating or curing patients who’ve exhausted their therapeutic options. However, there are some potential risks associated with putting stem cells into the human body such as cancer and infection. But scientists and clinicians are working hard to reduce the risk of stem cell therapies by testing … Continue reading A New Vaccine Could Make Stem Cell Transplants Safer
HIV/AIDS: Progress and Promise of Stem Cell Research
Our friends at Americans for Cures and Youreka Science have done it again. They’ve produced another whiteboard video about the progress and promise of stem cell research that’s so inspiring that it would probably make Darth Vader consider coming back to the light side. This time they tackled HIV. If you haven’t watched one of … Continue reading HIV/AIDS: Progress and Promise of Stem Cell Research
A meeting of minds: breaking down communication barriers between patients and doctors
One of the things that has always surprised me about stem cell research, or any scientific research, is that so often the people with most at stake never meet. Researchers spend most of their time in the lab trying to develop new treatments so they don’t often get to meet the people who are depending … Continue reading A meeting of minds: breaking down communication barriers between patients and doctors
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: back repair, stem cell aging, babies for same sex couples, chimeras
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. Getting the right cells for back repair. We often write that stem cells found in fat tissue can form bone, cartilage and other connective tissue. … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: back repair, stem cell aging, babies for same sex couples, chimeras
Four Challenges to Making the Best Stem Cell Models for Brain Diseases
Neurological diseases are complicated. A single genetic mutation causes some, while multiple genetic and environmental factors cause others. Also, within a single neurological disease, patients can experience varying symptoms and degrees of disease severity. And you can’t just open up the brain and poke around to see what’s causing the problem in living patients. It’s … Continue reading Four Challenges to Making the Best Stem Cell Models for Brain Diseases
The Stem Cellar 