Over the past two years we’ve watched a series of scientists shoot down the prevailing idea that one adult cell type cannot be converted into a different adult cell, with researchers directly converting skin cells into insulin-producing cells, nerve cells and heart tissue. (You can see our blog entry on this work here.)A Canadian team … Continue reading Human skin cells converted to blood

Drosophila intestinal stem cells (ISCs) respond to nutrient availabilityImage: Courtesy of Dr. Lei Wang, Salk Institute for Biological Studies Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found an intriguing connection between stem cell behavior and food. The more food, the more stem cells, and those stem cells divide more vigorously. The researchers did … Continue reading Food begets stem cells?

At CIRM we want nothing more than to find cures for the diseases that afflict people around the world. Until that day comes, many of the diseases we hope to cure — Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, ALS, to name a few — place an incredible burden on the caregivers in addition to … Continue reading A salute to caregivers from Leeza Gibbons

Science had a story this morning about what yesterday’s elections mean for stem cell funding. In it they suggest it’s unlikely that the lame duck congressional session will bring legislation to expressly legalize federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, writing:"I don't think it's going to be a priority for them," says Jennifer Zeitzer … Continue reading Federal stem cell legislation unlikely in lame duck session

Guest blogger Geoff LomaxSenior Officer to the Standards Working GroupCIRM reached an important milestone with the recent registration of a 15th human embryonic stem cell line created with institute funding. (Here is a description of how researchers create human embryonic stem cell lines.) In approving Proposition 71, the citizens of California entrusted CIRM to support … Continue reading 15 registered stem cell lines and counting

Researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have created a tiny, functional liver grown from stem cells. It's not big enough to process a half-time beer (Go Giants!), or much of anything else, but it's an interesting start.The researchers presented their laboratory-grown liver, which is about the size of a walnut, at a meeting … Continue reading Miniature liver grown from stem cells

The Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building We’re in the middle of a big week for CIRM-funded research facilities. UCLA opened the doors to their new CIRM-funded stem cell research space Monday (here's a video about that building) and today Stanford cuts the ribbon on the largest of the CIRM buildings — a gleaming … Continue reading More stem cell research space = jobs and therapies

The Victoria, Australia, innovation Minister Gavin Jennings is talking up a Victoria-California research team working to develop a therapy for autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis.“The project highlights the value of collaboration between world-leading centres like Victoria and California in biotechnology and stem cell research. It is yet another demonstration of … Continue reading Victoria-California stem cell collaboration tames the immune system

On January 16, 2009 CIRM began our glamorous TV career, launching the YouTube channel CIRMTV. Despite our fabulous onscreen talent the Emmys have yet to call (though they are welcome to comment below...). Still, we’re pretty pleased with the channel’s success. Today we reached 100,000 views to our videos, which include some educational pieces about … Continue reading The CIRMy’s: Top awards to stem cell videos