Shinya YamanakaThis year’s Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine went to two stem cell pioneers: Shinya Yamanaka and John Gurdon. The two scientists showed that mature cells such as those of the skin or intestine can be coaxed back to an embryonic-like state and can then form all tissues of the body.According to the Nobel … Continue reading Stem cell pioneers Gurdon and Yamanaka win Nobel Prize

This morning’s news cycle has been filled with stories about the work of a Japanese team that created eggs from both embryonic mouse stem cells and mouse reprogrammed stem cells, iPS cells made from skin. My favorite headline came from the BBC “Skin Cells become Grandparents,” noting that the eggs were fertile producing offspring who … Continue reading Creating eggs from stem cells opens huge window onto mysteries of fertility

Sometimes one of the hardest things to do is to take a complex subject and tell it in simple, easy to understand terms without ‘dumbing it down’. It’s particularly true of science where concepts and language are often so dense you need a Thesaurus at your side just to understand what they are talking about. … Continue reading Fortune favors California’s stem cell agency

Today is the fifth annual Stem Cell Awareness Day, being celebrated this year with events throughout California and in four additional states and five countries. CIRM is also coordinating an effort to teach high school students about stem cell research by having scientists visit classrooms. We expect to reach more than 100 classes in California … Continue reading Spreading the word on Stem Cell Awareness Day #stemcellday

Alan Trounson, CIRM PresidentEach month CIRM President Alan Trounson gives his perspective on recently published papers he thinks will be valuable in moving the field of stem cell research forward. This month’s report, along with an archive of past reports, is available on the CIRM website.This month I want to focus my blog on a … Continue reading Guest blogger Alan Trounson — September’s stem cell research highlights

Geoff Lomax is CIRM's Senior Officer to the Standards Working Group The European Parliament is currently considering its next research funding program called Horizon 2020. Under consideration in that program is the continued level of support for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research.The current European research program is similar to U.S. NIH policy, where research … Continue reading Europe not Competitive in hESC Research: Patently False

iPS cells (taken by Kathrin Plath, UCLA)Today we revisit the ongoing saga of how best to create iPS cells. When last we visited the Confusing (and ongoing) story of iPS vs. embryonic stem cells it was spring 2011, and several papers had just come out revealing both pros and cons of working with iPS cells. … Continue reading How a skin cells becomes an iPS cell revealed

Francisco PrietoPatient advocates are an integral part of everything we do here at the stem cell agency, helping shape every aspect of our work, from the way we operate to the research we fund. One of the current patient advocates on our board is Dr. Francisco Prieto, and he has just written a wonderful article … Continue reading Francisco Prieto: California’s investment in stem cell research gives patients a reason to hope

Geoff Lomax is CIRM's Senior Officer to the Standards Working Group Lifespan from 1990 to 2008 for groups of women, from The New York TimesThe New York Times recently reported new evidence that life expectancy among some groups has fallen by and average of four years since 1990. There is perhaps no more poignant measure … Continue reading Lifespan drops in some groups: points to need for better prevention, new therapies

Cynthia Schaffer is Contract Administrator and Compliance Officer at CIRM One of the roles CIRM plays is in collaborating with outside groups to help our grantees get the information they need to move their possible therapies into clinical trials. That includes working closely with both the Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) and the Alliance for … Continue reading CIRM translating research into therapies: Collaborating with the FDA and industry