One amazing aspect of living in the era of social media is the incredible way information spreads. A butterfly batting its little orange wings in a monarch grove in Santa Cruz could influence a tweet of a blogger heard ‘round the world.Or, in CIRM’s case, a few videos playing on YouTube could be used by … Continue reading Stem cell videos make the grade

On left and right, Berkeley Stem Cell Center co-directors David Schaffer and Randy Shekman, and center, Mary West, manager of the new lab. (Photo by Jan Ambrosini)Berkeley is the most recent institution to open new stem cell space funded by CIRM. Their CIRM-funded stem cell facility, which had its opening Oct. 5, is also a … Continue reading Growing space for California stem cell research

Today CIRM began a three-day external review of its activities. It began with a public session which included what might be the best analogy ever for why we need to continue working with all types of stem cells: adult, cancer, iPS and embryonic.Rodney Paul, who has type 1 diabetes, showed up to discuss his hopes … Continue reading Best. Analogy. Ever: Why we need all types of stem cells

Today Geron announced that the first patient had been treated in their groundbreaking trial based on human embryonic stem cells. At first blush: Woo hoo!! This is the first test of technology that holds hope for millions of people living with spinal cord injury and other diseases.But it’s important to remember that this first trial … Continue reading Geron trial — baby steps toward a cure

Nature Medicine carried a piece Friday by CIRM governing board member Jeff Sheehy, writing about the importance of having a patient advocate voice in biomedical research. Sheehy, who is living with HIV, is a long-time advocate for HIV/AIDS research. He has been on the CIRM board since the beginning in November 2004, and is a … Continue reading Patient advocates vital to stem cell research progress

A new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll came to the not-so-startling conclusion that most Americans support using embryos left over from in vitro fertilization for research purposes, including human embryonic stem cell research. According to the report, Humphrey Taylor, chairman of the Harris Poll that conducted to online survey said:"Even among Catholics and born-again Christians, relatively few … Continue reading New poll finds widespread support for stem cell research

Stem Cell Awareness Day is underway, which is both true and practically rhymes, making it a fitting opening for a post about poems.We held the second annual poetry contest this year in conjunction with events and seminars being held worldwide. Entries were judged by Don Reed, sponsor of the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research … Continue reading Stem cell awareness, poetry, and the blues

On Monday the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Robert Edwards for his efforts to make in vitro fertilization a reality. The Nobel Prize-winning discovery not only allowed millions of couples to start families, it opened up the field of stem cell research.According to the Nobel Prize press release: Approximately four million individuals … Continue reading Nobel-winning IVF work laid groundwork for stem cell research

Any excuse to link stem cell research and a favorite activity...In the top 10 list of our most popular entries, spinal cord injury ranked among the topics of most interest to readers. And for good reason. It's the first condition to be approved for an embryonic stem cell trial. It's also a terrible condition in … Continue reading Running, cycling and swimming for a cure